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[Aion]

I am not a shaman and I have not read all of Castenada's books, only the first one. Just so you know my background a bit, I have mostly derived my technique from an interest in memory and remembering. I was inspired a lot by stories of monks with incredible memories in developing the techniques although I do not really know if I use the same techniques as others have. I am 'self taught'. I have explored it both through the lens of past life, current life and future life, as well as parallel. I consider learning to be more of a remembering process. I theorize that there is never anything added to the mind, but rather the infinite mind is expressing itself through a finite lens which may be widened and widened. So to learn, you must be willing to remember. This willingness is fundamental to my technique. You must sharpen your desire like a blade, so that you eventually learn to only hit those points in the deep mind you are seeking. It takes time and practice, I am by no means a master.

There is a combination of visualizing with memorization that is particularly useful. If you can create an internal landscape to reflect the journey through your mind, make it less abstract, there is a lot more you can do. This, I believe, is the root of the shamanic, druidic techniques of 'astral travel' and journeying. The idea is to create a concrete structure through which you can move.

The suggestion to start with your own life is because that is the trunk of the tree and is where the heart lies. If you go too far outside of the current life without anchoring well within it you can easily dissociate and become lost within yourself. It is best in my experience to start from the moment and first go back to the start of your life. This means start where you are and consciously try to remember back year by year back until you return to your birth. Do this a few times to discover many different 'corridors' you may not have discovered through the first pass. The mind is opened slowly. You won't get everything in one trip. Sometimes it will seem like you gain nothing. This is part of the journey. You must keep making journeys in order to find all your own hidden treasures. Then, once you have done this for awhile, start to push back further in to your 'pre-birth' mind. This will seem strange at first and you may feel like you are just 'imagining' things. This is part of memory.

Memory is created actively. It's more like a vibration which gives rise to a form. You have to 'make the right music' for the forms to appear. This is done through your intention and with your desires. You have to learn to maintain a dual perspective. Both skeptical and with innocent trust. Allow every form to appear as is and weight it against the truth of yourself. This is how you learn to navigate your own mind. There are parts of the mind which are 'closer' to the core, the heart of you, and there are things which are further away. All is one, but there is a structure. The thoughts which lead you towards the heart are the ones to follow. They will take you to your memories. The thoughts which lead you away from your heart will take you in to imagination.

There are things you will feel, you will KNOW them as reflecting a deep truth when you discover them. Distill this truth and allow its wisdom to reveal itself. Nothing is as it seems, question everything and when the answers stop changing you are beginning to strike gold.