Although this terminology was, to my knowledge, launched by Castaneda, the idea itself is not new, but under different language and approach. Nonetheless, the arrival in this form is no doubt one of those ideas from Castaneda that has been dropped into a highly ripe environment, considering the advent of the mind-altering culture that has become so prevalent since the 60s. But as usual, the principle has been misunderstood.
The Assemblage Point (AP) has been adopted by the New-Age community in a mix of theosophy and healing, to represent the intersection of different energy spheres within the body. This is largely a theoretical speculation and has little to do with shamanism. Shamans see the AP in a very different way – for them, the AP is the soul.
We are perceivers, and what we perceive is filtered through the AP. It acts as a lens, which channels and orders the universe into a manageable package for us, according to our needs. It is a functional lens that provides us with perceivable information so that we can operate effectively in the world. From the point of view of our perceptual identity, the AP is the world. It is everything we know and believe about the universe and ourselves. Thus, when our body dies, so does the lens – nothing can be assembled after that, so the world and ourselves as we know it disintegrates into mist.
Everything you do, everything you are taught, all your learning and experiences from the moment of conception go into forming the AP. There are holes in it for the early years, when children can see things that are not acceptable in later life. Around the age of twenty, you can be confident the AP has been sealed over. But it continues to develop and expand with every experience we have until we die.
In order for us to function properly in this world, including through all the trials, sufferings and shocks of life, we require a strong, stable AP. For a shaman, most of his work goes into building a broad-based stability for his AP. This is one reason why the modern breed of shamans adopted intellectuality into the mix, because it provided an entirely new angle of relief on the sobriety of the AP.
A shaman knows from experience, that the structure of the AP is not so simple. For the ordinary person, there are three components to perception. The unfiltered universe of everything, is filtered through the ordinary person’s AP lens, and the resulting light strikes the perceptual sensor: universe, AP, sensor. For a shaman, accustomed to sustaining stability within a shifting world, there are four components. The AP is separated into two parts. The universe remains the same, and the perceptual sensor, our deepest core of awareness, is also the same (although the shaman works to change that as well).
When the ordinary person is presented with altered states, the confusing effect ramifies directly into the sensor, causing considerable discombobulation. The AP’s certainty shatters under the impact of discordant information, which then sends this disruptive energy directly into the sensor which has the potential to destroy the person’s ‘mind’. In this context, I use the word mind to describe the whole process of perception filtering, self-image and neurological brain structure. Overload of discordant and confusing flow through the AP can actually cause severe damage to the neurological structure of the brain.
The shaman guards against this, especially because he is by trade a psychological adventurer. So, he inserts an intermediate lens between the primary AP and the sensor. When the world convulses and distorts, he withdraws within an internal bubble, which is this intermediary lens that protects the inner sensor, and thus the brain (as much as possible). It becomes a major struggle for the shaman to hold that bubble together no matter what images and feelings are assailing him from without. In such situations the AP’s filtering breaks down and it lets in completely unfiltered information because it becomes overloaded. The shaman is able to release the primary AP, which also minimises any damage to it due to a lack of stress, and pulls all the essential elements of identity back within the second AP lens. He then holds that structure together with all his power, and floats in a time capsule until the outer storm subsides.
To achieve this shamanic technology, we have to work on three areas. Firstly, we strengthen the AP. Secondly, we deconstruct the AP. Thirdly, we build awareness in such a way that it manifests the second, intermediate AP. All these elements require extensive knowledge and work, but I’ll just cover the essentials here.
Strengthening the AP. You know you have a strong AP when life’s tragedies don’t cause you to fall apart. There are two ways to shift the AP – one is gradual and the other dramatic. In strengthening, we shift the AP in a gradual, incremental way, by adding new elements to our world. We also strengthen by developing mastery of skills. Doing every act to the best we can – this employs all the old adages of our grandparents: trustworthiness, reliability, craftsmanship in all actions, subjecting ourselves to deprivation, not complaining or blaming and so forth.
Then we broaden the base of our AP by this gradual shift process. We work at including novelty into our life – not being caught in old attitudes or patterns of behaviour. Breaking our habits and discovering new pathways or experiences. We have to work at this all our life, but eventually it becomes a pleasure, which makes it easier.
Deconstructing the AP. This is the dangerous part. In essence, we invite death into the AP. In fact, the AP as was formed through our life, has to die. You can see why this is dangerous and a very tricky manoeuvre to pull off. There are two prime components: firstly, we employ major shifts of the AP. Think of the AP as a dense point of light in our energetic body. It can expand and shift around, but tends to hang about the same general location. It shifts through the day, depending on your activities and who is in your presence, what movies you watch or foods you eat. But it is capable of complete jumps to new locations if the right conditions are presented to it. As a shaman, we strategically plan and execute these major shifts, as well as the restabilising process after.
Secondly, we invite death to do its work. This is called, ‘to die before you die’. This is the primary stamp of a shaman: one who has died. I only wish there was a simple explanation of how one goes about this, but actually it is an intensely personal relationship between us and our own death. The only familiar pathway prescribed for budding shamans is the practice of internal silence. Otherwise, I recommend you don’t do it alone, if that is at all possible.
Building awareness and the intermediate AP. This is actually building your own soul, but it comes about naturally as you practice the whole field of awareness. Take an example: you work at a job where your manager irritates you intensely, but for the sake of your job, you have to put your personal feelings aside, and feign allegiance and alignment with this person. This kind of experience causes your AP to split into two. Another case: you are in a situation in which it is critical you adopt a serious and sober attitude, but internally you find the whole thing hilarious and insane. Again, your soul becomes divided.
When you practice lucid dreaming exercises, you separate yourself from the world you witness. You experience a sense of detachment as the impassioned observer. That creates a secondary, self-initiated AP. Whenever you force awareness from inside, that effort, known as Vulcan by Rudolf Steiner, is the vehicle that survives the death of the body. It is created and bonded by our own free will, not for any worldly purpose or investment. It is a pure membrane of disassociated awareness, the shaman’s light body.
