Shamanism for the Age of Science: Awakening the Energy Body - Kenneth Smith 2018

Group Creativity
Building a Creative Life

Led by changes in individual consciousness, group consensus gradually expands. What used to be solely in the realm of imagination is learned en masse. Different, if not new, arrangements with reality occur all the time. No matter the form, the arenas for creativity are immense.

A New Cycle

Don Juan divides the evolution of Toltec philosophy neatly into the old and new cycles. The old cycle, which brewed for thousands of years, was characterized by abuses of power, bizarre practices of bending human cohesion into other life forms, and replete with obscure formulas and incantations. He thought that these practices led to its destruction.²²

Several hundred years ago, Toltecs were almost exterminated due to warring, strife, and the Spanish Conquest of Mexico. Their intricate reflection-projection blinded them to the impending environmental threat of invading armies. “They didn’t even see it coming,” as the saying goes.

In the midst of devastation, the remnant of surviving shamans went underground and revamped their teachings. Observing that their prior behaviors had led to a dead-end, they developed an ethic in which the real purpose of their craft was to shift the assemblage point, and do so in a manner that promoted knowledge and freedom. In essence, the old cycle was based on bondage whereas the new cycle wished to exercise potential and, in so doing, revamp the basic options and behaviors concerned with being alive.²³

One might argue it wasn’t only the devastation brought about by European invaders on an indigenous culture that sparked a realignment of their ways but also the infusion of foreign consciousness that provided a new relationship to their world and to their consciousness. While the Toltec energy body map was quite detailed, perhaps even breaking new ground, their general intellectual sophistication may have been augmented by coming to terms with an occupation force, requiring some degree of cultural inclusion. Even though the native population outnumbered that of the invaders, the political and military might of the foreign armies established this external force as the dominant cultural influence.

This illustrates assimilation, where one group-consensus cohesion influences another to use a shamanic reference, and there is no reason why the Toltec endeavor should escape this aspect of adaptation as it applies to individual and group consciousness.²⁴ As a cohesional dynamic, assimilation relates to environmental entrainment and it affects thinking and other behaviors; therefore the interaction among cultures may have added a more abstract quality to Toltecs’ considerations, which propelled their philosophy into new dimensions of understanding, leading to the birth of a modern cycle.

The new cycle reckoned that most of the difficulties faced by Toltec seers—old and new cycles alike—stemmed from self-reflection. This is demonstrated by comparing those who don’t have self-restraint with those who seek practical goals. It is the latter group, maintains don Juan, who resolve the problem of self-reflection and what he refers to as self-importance.²⁵ This easily correlates with our current course of abuses of political and economic power and of environmental destruction.

It is also possible that those of old cycle were living up to their natural field. During that epoch uniformity of the energy body was oblong, limiting the range of cohesion. The options for behavior could only be expressed in specific directions. Stretching through the energy body for all the best reasons then produced dark aberrations rather than the more holistic, mystical orientation of the new cycle.

Characteristic of this inherent limitation, the old cycle didn’t have a penchant for understanding, which is a signature of the new cycle. While Toltec inquiry is quite rigorous, it is markedly different from the standards of other modern disciplines. The accepted modes and means of perception alone highlight this variance. How the unconscious is brought to light, then, pertains to style as well as to the ethical standards surrounding these investigations.

A body of ethics is only as good as the orientation of those producing the ethic. If the ethos isn’t derived from core values, the effect is estrangement from nature of which humans are part. With the historical reformation, the Toltec quest shifted from highly unusual and intricate cohesions designed for control to tempering cohesion in order to reach core, developing the artisan stage, and leaving the teachings en route to new avenues of freedom.

Toltecs are not the only people who have gone through dark times. The Christian Inquisition certainly carried out less-than-noble endeavors. In addition, a couple thousand years ago Taoists in China went through an evolution reminiscent of the Toltec experience. Prior to that time Taoists saw themselves as being ruled by a pantheon of gods and they sought temporal power. Over time, Taoism became more streamlined, instituting pragmatic pursuits such as being a force behind Traditional Chinese Medicine, and eventually developing into one of the major philosophies of our age.²⁶

In our time, while the goal of acquiring temporal power remains pervasive we also face a different type of darkness: the potential threat of global warming. While scientific evidence indicating global warming continues to mount, in some circles controversy remains as to whether it is actually occurring as a result of human-made pollutants, whether it is a natural regularly occurring phenomenon, or whether it is actually occurring in the first place. For instance, investigators may legitimately question data obtained from weather monitoring stations that are in close proximity to commercial kitchen exhaust fans.

But debate is one thing; the obvious is another. So if we step aside from the argument itself, it seems plain enough that the mere act of reducing environmental toxins—no matter the reason—immediately creates a healthier environment. This commonsense harmony with the environment is a mainstay of traditional shamanic values.

Environment

Physicist Milo Wolff points out, “Every charged particle is part of the universe and the universe is part of each charged particle. This implies that each of us, including you and me, are connected together as part of the observable universe!” It has also become increasingly clear that inclusion of the environment is necessary to adequately define anatomy and physiology. Scientific studies, for example, show how conditions such as the degree of lighting affect biochemical reactions and behavior.²⁷

In his groundbreaking book, The Biology of Belief, cell biologist and medical school professor Bruce Lipton provides a compelling case challenging current scientific thinking that genetics regulates cellular activity. Instead he holds that a cell’s physical and energetic environment determine its life. Lipton also offers consideration that both of these models result from beliefs, not necessarily from what is actual.²⁸

Our connectedness impacts virtually every aspect of our lives. How a group relates to others and to the world also determines the environment. Humans have populated Earth to an extent that our energies are now significantly influencing the cohesion of the planet. This is bioenergetics in motion, the relationship between organisms and the environment.

Self-reflection has an upside and downside regarding the environment. The downside is that projection-reflection blocks awareness; the upside is that it permits accurate assessment. Humans have done a magnificent job of carving out a niche that enhances survival and even allows for leisure time to play, travel, and contemplate. Yet this basic relationship causes difficulty. To sustain human life, we need to take the best of what we know and establish a new relationship—a symbiotic relationship—rather than continue as predators.

From an ethical perspective, global warming and an assortment of other environmental concerns are part and parcel of the issues confronting business. Site selection, emissions, deforestation/reforestation, renewable resources, and economic development are all part of the agenda. According to Michael Lerner, author of Spirit Matters, addressing corporate as well as individual and social responsibility for environmental concerns requires a spiritual assessment and direction. Lerner promotes a “globalization of spirit,” where self-interest gives way to awareness and participation in a larger order.²⁹

From a psychological view, Maslow points out that the environment of family and culture are absolute requirements for actualization. At the same time, autonomy is part of self-actualization, which results in less fear and anxiety as well as a greater ability to handle environmental situations like tragedy, stress, and deprivation. A greater independence that allows full individuality is realized but not, Maslow maintains, at the expense of the environment. The ability to act independently of the environment and to measure your steps by your own sense of responsibility is a defining attribute of psychological health.³⁰

As articulated by Lipton, the field of epigenetics deals with how environment, perceptions, and beliefs affect genetic expression. This expression determines what proteins will be manufactured and how the body functions. In addition, in illuminating difficulties with experimenter bias—including how experiments are designed, conducted, and interpreted—researchers have recently cited quantum entanglement to explain how a model held by a person participating in an experiment is part of the environment and therefore a determinant of the experiment and its outcome.³¹

Biophysicist James Oschman points out that we live as part of multiple environments. From intracellular chemical communication to electromagnetic fields of power connected to extraterrestrial influences, we exist in a multitude of internal and external environments. Sound, light, and a variety of magnetic and electromagnetic fields are just part of this vast energetic landscape. It is also clear that this energetic environment affects physical health. Even a cursory look at weather changes and allergies reveals a causal connection between health and environment. Added to this, there is growing concern that human-made, energetic pollution disrupts the normal functions of the body.³²

Overall, a holistic approach to health mandates an assessment of our relationship to our environment. Traditional Chinese Medicine is based on balancing the body with its environment. Homeopathy requires the practitioner to examine environmental factors that may cause, prolong, or maintain a disorder. And Valerie Hunt demonstrates how the environment affects the aura.³³ This is noteworthy as the aura reveals to some measure the condition of the whole person and often reflects one’s state of health before the physical body manifests the positive or negative condition reflected in the aura. This means the aura can provide diagnostic measurement.

From a Toltec perspective, the energy body is seen as intimately connected with its environment. You are therefore part of all that is around you, seen and unseen. The alignment of outer and inner energies forms the basis of perception. When your perceptions change it is due to a change in relation to the environment. Expanding your alignments increases consciousness. This leads to tapping an ever-increasing order, resulting from accessing more emanations of energy.³⁴

We are immersed in an infinite number of vibrations, says don Juan, and human perception is relegated to a specific region.³⁵ But collective consciousness expands as individuals continue to explore recondite areas of awareness and then express those findings within the whole. As a result, we may be stepping beyond what being human once meant as we awaken more of the energy body as a group.

Technology

An integral part of our environment, technology is a means to channel potential into practical use. No matter if technology consists of an ancient plow or a space shuttle, it represents a creative force that touches practically every aspect of our lives.

Technology is applied science. Well practiced, science grants adventures into the unknown and technology turns those endeavors into practical gains. Pharmaceutical drugs, for instance, represent technologies that result due to the hard-won findings of medical science. From tires to windows to engines and the means to make them, to the thinking behind it all, automobiles alone reflect how deeply technology pervades our lives.

In addition to the material and mechanical varieties, technology also includes cognitive forms. A working technology grows from a concept that is pulled out of the unknown and gains conscious footing; technology emerges from the human unconscious and the possibilities held within. Agreements formed in collective consciousness anchor it to reality. Our current line of technological development mimics heretofore science-fiction technologies. Reason is evolving and becoming more capable of handling out-of-this-world concepts. The notion of stepping on the face of the moon was once only found in an entertaining story. While it will take time for humans to build a flying saucer, teleportation of quantum matter has already become fact.³⁶ New scientific theories that alter the landscape of what is considered possible are rapidly emerging. Group consensus about reality will invariably change as well and, in time, children will be raised with an entirely new baseline state of consciousness.

As material technology is based in reason, it represents mental constructs emanating from personal and group projection. A metaphysical system offers techniques for not only implementing but intricately developing the worldview it espouses, where the emphasis is on innate ability to enhance awareness.³⁷ This can be seen in shamanic teachings, which render a mechanical, energetic view of human anatomy and physiology, as well as a means to manage these resources; they embody more than philosophy as they form a cognitive technology that places metaphysical theory into practice and experience.

Humans are assisted in their steps by a blend of material and cognitive technologies. Bioenergetic technology is an example of this; it reflects technological development based on a growing collective consciousness about energetic anatomy. Toltecs speed up their evolution by skilled use of imagination. As an aspect of their cognitive technology, the higher levels of imagination enable various time-travel modes of perception marked by out-of-body and near-death experiences.

Toltec abilities are derived, says don Juan, from silent knowledge, from awareness that is deep within us, at our very core, but outside the domain of reason’s inventories.³⁸ Silent knowledge is a comprehensive knowing, a sense of natural order, a relationship with infinity. It indicates having at least a core orientation with advancement toward a natural energy field. Without necessarily knowing how or why, bits of the unknown are translated into conscious awareness. Accurate intuition in a novel situation is an example; you realize answers correlate with having actual knowledge of the environment. The main idea is that you’re aware beyond your known references.

Like other stable perceptions, it is an assemblage point position. Don Juan adds that in our far-distant past, this was the natural condition of humans: that of behaving from silent knowledge. Then something occurred that created the ability to reason, and from that point we entered an evolutionary track concerned with objectifying our environment. The sense of being separate from the world was the beginning of objectivity and vice versa. This new relationship with the world magnified the perception of living in a material world, forming a pervasive technological worldview and culture.

Both material and cognitive applications of awareness are needed for humans to grow in modern life, both are created from group consensus, and both need tempering. Material technology is evolving rapidly and thereby producing a situation that its growth outpaces ethical considerations of how to use it. We have the means to quickly and completely destroy the inhabitability of our planet through warfare. For another example, manufacturing generally has not proficiently adjusted to the pollution it causes. We therefore need balance stemming from a well-formulated ethic that permits technological advances while restraining aberrant uses.

For reasons such as this, His Holiness the Dalai Lama argues that religion, which influences more people than does the more esoteric leanings of mysticism, remains relevant in modern society. And religion scholar Paul Johnson notes, “Religious behavior seeks the largest possible adjustment of life, for it is concerned about the ultimate relationships.”³⁹

By locking perception within a box reflecting its own abilities, technology may estrange the individual from recognizing native abilities. It may also continue to grow at a rate leading to more environmental destruction than benefit. And it may render futile the attempt to liberate a person or society from its grip. For his own field of bioethics, Leon R. Kass, author of Life, Liberty and the Defense of Dignity, argues for a more thorough examination of the discipline in order to develop a richer ethic. Bioethics, for instance, has grown from examinations of issues relating to death and dying while in a coma, to a range of topics such as transplants, stem cell research, and more.⁴⁰

Acknowledged as one of the founders of bioethics, Professor James Drane argues in More Humane Medicine that the doctor-patient relationship has changed. Patients have different assumptions relating to physician authority and treatment has become fragmented. Free-market capitalism now has a major influence on the relationship. Drane points out that these and other factors require a return to the traditional foundations of medical ethics in order to restore the personal bond between the physician and the person who is ill.⁴¹

The growth of bioenergetics and transpersonal psychology may help produce an ethic for the development of consciousness. We would then have the power of a logically created system that paradoxically extends awareness beyond known limits. This would help develop reason to make sense of an ever-expanding order—stimulation that would enhance the quality of life for one and all.

Education

As a species, we need to take better care of educational systems and methods. It may be that a lack of relevance of what is being taught is adversely affecting the secondary school dropout rate. And the entire ethic of curriculum needs to be overhauled. Gearing the education of children toward helping a country compete globally may diminish creativity in a way as to have the opposite result. It may interfere, not only with self-actualization, but also may channel learning into arbitrarily predetermined categories often blocking new insights and therefore the ability to develop technologies.

As reference, there is style of learning, which takes into account ontological factors such as responsibility, innate drives and pace, and emotional intelligence. It also creates a solid and lasting relationship with learning. Initially developed by Benjamin Bloom, it is called “Mastery Learning,” and emphasizes consolidating a step in learning a skill or subject before moving on to the next step, and that creating an appropriate environment for this is necessary. It is not rote learning, it is mastering the process of learning.⁴²

Teachers, administrators, and institutions exert tremendous entrainment influences on how we view our world. The quality of instruction makes all the difference in what is learned and how one relates to learning. This makes it all the more meaningful for each person to assume responsibility for what is being learned and what to do about it. This allows one to offset poor instruction, if this is the case, and regain an edge for learning. Good instruction instills this attitude of personal responsibility; excellent teaching requires it.