Taisha Abelar's Talk at the Los Angeles Workshop 1997 - Evening

Notes by Vincent Sargenti and Randy Stark

Los Angeles Workshop, August 23 to 27, 1997

Short half hour lectures conducted from notes, that's what workshop attendees were getting used to by now. The rest of the time was spent learning passes, lots of passes in long forms taught for the most part in total silence. Besides basic cues, there were few comments, only brief demonstrations, that was it. Just do it. True to the mood of 'less talk, more action', the sorcerers seemed intent on getting down to brass tacks. Endless questions were not encouraged.

After the dinner break, a smiling Taisha Abelar strolled in to applause, mounted the platform, signaled for quiet, stated her name, and began to talk about Bobby again (or Robert, which she used interchangeably). This time she did so in more detail. She discussed how we are a reflection of the Flyer's mentality. All our systems of socialization and conduct are examples of their influence.

"All of our attributes, all of them, every single one, come from Robert."

Taisha spoke of the big caches of energy that are like two columns on either side of us. She said that to seers, these two caches of energy have the appearance of two giant melting candles, one on either side and to the front of us. She said that if we could access that energy alone, it would be sufficient to throw off the bonds of the Flyer's socialization and move away from the position of ME.

"But the Flyers prevent us from even perceiving them, let alone getting at those caches of energy and accessing them," Taisha continued. "If we could access the two huge caches of energy that are on either side of us, we would then be capable of gaining access to all the zillions of spots that our awareness could move to within the fringe of awareness, within the shallow stream. One could choose to move the beam of attention to other positions besides the point between the toes."

Taisha went on to say that she was going to address certain points of interest, points that are repeated endlessly because that's the only way human beings are able to learn, by having things relentlessly drilled into them over and over, again and again. Which is precisely what don Juan and his party did to her and her cohorts.

She emphatically stated that, "If it's not part of our cognitive system, it's never registered. People will say, 'Oh sure, I know what you're talking about.' We use to say to say the same thing. When something comes from outside our cognitive system we THINK we can understand it, but since it's not part of our system the data is completely disregarded, it completely bypasses us."

Taisha made an over-the-head gesture with her hand. "We never apprehend it. Our cognitive system is total. It completely seals us into itself. The magical passes are not part of our cognitive system. The Dark Sea of Awareness revealed them to the ancient sorcerers who lived thousands of years ago, probably because of their immense sense of discipline and sobriety."

The task of the Tensegrity practitioner is two-fold:

1.   To prepare themselves to be affected by the full force of Not-Doing through the practice of magical passes.

2.   To elegantly acquiesce to the Dark Sea of Awareness, to the point of being able to use Tensegrity as a vehicle to infinity.

Taisha explained that the current instructors of Tensegrity form a 'shamanistic unit' of ten women and six men. She said that they were brought together for a specific purpose. Its primary concern currently is getting free from Bobby. Some of them were brought in by Carol Tiggs ten years ago when she returned from her absence, others were brought in as few as two years ago.

She further explained that because of the advent of numerous Tensegrity students, 'mass' had had a direct effect on all of them. She said that as result of Tensegrity students 'coming along', the newer instructors, ones who had arrived in the last two years or so, were capable of covering a tremendous amount of ground in a relatively short period of time.

Because of the energetic mass that Tensegrity student-practitioners represent, newer instructors, "Have been capable of tremendous leaps of cognition." The instructors who were around before all the mass of students came along had had to work twice as hard to cover not even half the cognitive ground.

Taisha stated that the most difficult problem is our socialization, and the most deeply ingrained and subtle social issue concerns the fact that we are brought up to be 'property'. Since man drew his model of the world from Bobby, almost everything in that world is a reflection of what she called, "Bobby's Paradigm of Ownership."

Take our predilection for pets. We love our pets to death. We go to great lengths to keep them close to us. We even mutilate them when necessary. Taisha talked about the different kinds of extravagant leashes that are being made these days. She told the audience about a particular leash she saw where the owner carried a little box in his pocket that had control buttons on it and a cable attached. If the owner wanted to give his pet a little more length he would push one button, and if he wanted to reel the pet in he would push another. The thing would actually drag an 80 pound dog across the street.

Taisha said that Bobby has us on a similar system, "Where do you think we got the idea?"

From here Taisha moved into less comfortable territory saying that, "Our parents own us." This leaves us with the problem of what to do with our 'owners'. She said that parental influences are devastating to those who are attempting to break free of social boundaries.

Warrior-travelers, however, demand elegance in dealing with such issues. She used Florinda as her example of someone who has a supreme sense of elegance. "She's one of the most elegant beings alive," Taisha said. She runs circles around her parents. They actually fight over her -- over who gets the most attention from her. If one doesn't get equal time on the phone when she calls, the other one has a fit. So Florinda will play one against the other, and say she has to run before the other has had equal time. It drives them crazy, yet Florinda just tiptoes around them, never allowing either to have control over her. In this way she sidesteps Bobby's Paradigm of Ownership, and does so with the flair and elegance of a true warrior.

Taisha, on the other hand, humorously admitted that she is the poorest example of elegance in this regard. In order to be free of her 'owners', she bluntly confronted them and fearlessly beat them both -- actually stood on a chair to beat her father. She asked the audience to imagine this giant German man being attacked and beaten by his skinny-as-a-rail daughter. Her mother couldn't believe it was happening and was so offended that, in the end, Taisha was disinherited.

"That's not a good example of what to do," Taisha laughed, "but it worked!"

She had become free of her owners.

"Still, it's better to elegantly slip away."

Returning to the 'shamanistic unit', Taisha said they were currently under siege. Their owners do not want to let them go, so they have to devise methods to be free of them. Owners will never let their property go, they will try to possess it beyond this world. They will enlist the rest of the family in group humiliation and guilt. They will recruit relatives and friends to feel sorry for them in their failure as parents. They will go to the ends of the Earth to bring their 'property' back into the fold.

Taisha spoke again of how she was raised from a very young age to be a servant. She related several examples of how parental influence holds one inside the parameters of socialization, the predetermined agreement to conform with patterns of social behavior. These patterns of behavior imprison us, hold us down energetically, and blind us to other possibilities. We are trapped in a scenario that holds our cognitive system forever in place. We can't be free of it without terrible repercussions. Those familiar with us would rather see us dead than let us go.

A favorite device of parents is to ask, "What's the matter with you? Why are you doing this to us? Why are you running around with that cult? They're brainwashing you!"

"It's not a cult."

"Oh yes it is, dear. It most certainly is a cult. Next thing you know we'll find you dancing at the airport, or even worse, dead in some mansion beneath a purple shroud."

"You know, whatever," Taisha said, waving her hand in the air in mock despair.

"Why don't you take your rightful place in this family? Look at your brother," Taisha paused, ". . . Robert! At least HE'S married and has a family."

Even though Robert is a hopeless alcoholic who beats his wife, he conforms to his owner's basic wishes.

"He's okay, we know where he is and who he is. Sure, he's drunk out of his mind most of the time and can't hold a job, but at least we know he's our Robert."

That's the insanity of our socialization.

The old nagual was dismayed that there was no way to be free -- to break Bobby's Paradigm of Ownership. Only extremely exigent discipline could give one the possibility of having 'a square centimeter chance'.

Taisha concluded her short lecture and left the hall to warm, if somewhat stunned, applause.

The Energy Trackers came out after a short break and the long forms of the Womb Series and Right/Left body passes (from the Heat Series) were reviewed till 10:00pm.

If participants had any doubts, they were dispelled as day two came to a close. The sorcerers intended to pound workshop attendees into the ground with magical passes. The first two days combined were grueling yet strangely invigorating. There was an abundance of energy oozing through the LA Convention Center as people made their way out. Participants, sobered by the immensities being offered and the effort involved to cover such a huge mass of new material, had a certain silent quality about them.

As work-study and Cleargreen folks closed up shop for the night, attendees dispersed like lines of ants into a calm and pleasantly warm LA night.

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