Q & A

If you are looking for the answer to a specific question you can e mail at sgregg@aloha.com or look through the previous quotes section. In that section I have uploaded numerous quotes from my latest book The Toltec Way.

Can you explain the process of recapitulation?

Recapitulation

Recapitulation is a simple breathing technique that allows you to release the past on an energy level. Every piece of information in your mind has an emotional component and an action component. Almost every memory you have has some kind of an emotional charge attached to it. If you were severely bitten by a dog as a child chances are you are afraid of dogs. A dog that might terrify you seems quite lovable to others because of your past.

Your filter system is a series of stored memories that your mind relies upon whenever it makes a decision about anything. The stronger the emotional component the more rigid your thinking is around a particular issue. When I suggest that our greatest strength lies in being totally vulnerable people generally disagree with me. They argue that it’s unsafe to be vulnerable only everyone because as children most of us learned that vulnerability allowed us to be hurt emotionally. I believed this for years but eventually I realized an open heart allowed me to feel love all the time, protecting myself by not being vulnerable required me to close my heart and cut myself off from love.

Recapitulation allows you to release the emotional component so you can ‘see’ an issue more clearly and make different choices in your life. Once the emotional charge is removed we ‘see’ so many other choices. We are free to choose based on what we want to create rather than on what we believe about the past. Until we release the emotional charge or the energy behind our decisions change is very difficult.

Recapitulation – The Process

The actual process consists of two types of breaths: the inhalation and the exhalation. They are two entirely different types of breaths that are practiced separately. These breaths are designed to remove any emotional charge or energy you have attached to old, stored memories. Once you remove the emotional energy from the memories they become emotional neutral and it is much easier for you to make different choices in the future.

When a doctor hits you knee with that little hammer your leg automatically swings. When you hit one of your emotionally charged memories you automatically take the same actions. Once you recapitulate a memory or series of memories you can chose what action you want to attach to events in your life.

By recapitulating my life I literally created a different childhood. When I was young I felt constantly judged by my mother, I felt unloved, alone, and abused. I spent years doing inner child work and trying to heal my abusive childhood. Then I recapitulated my past. Once I did that I could see very clearly that my mother was saying I love you and I was hearing there is something wrong with you because of my filters. I could see how even as a child I was creating my experience of reality with my filter system. Inside each child’s body is a spirit that already has beliefs and filters.

Now as I look back on my childhood I can see my mother’s perplexed face. I remember her saying I am just trying to help you. She was saying I love you the only way she knew how and I couldn’t hear it when she said it that way. I imagine she couldn’t hear I love you the way I said it either. We came together to learn how to say I love you and we missed the mark. Recapitulation can set you free from your filters or at least allow you to see them more clearly. I hated giving up my mother as my escape goat but I eventually had to if I wanted to be happy and free.

The inhalation breath focuses on taking back any energy you have given to a person or event. In order for us to be upset by someone or something we have to give it permission to upset us. In a sense we have to give away a piece of ourselves. With the inhalation breath we take back that piece of ourselves we left behind.

The exhalation breath gives back the energy we received during the exchange. If someone was yelling at us we give back their anger, shame, or judgment. They gave us a piece of themselves so we give it back to them. The Hawaiians believe we leave behind little energy filaments wherever we go. We leave behind a part of our energy unless we chose to take it back. The ancient Hawaiians would periodically cut the filaments so they could regain their mana or spirit.

When I view life from an energy level it looks like a vast spider web of luminous filaments. Our emotions attach us to everything and every one. Those attachments drain our energy and strip of us of our freedom of choice. Recapitulation will break those attachments.

It is important to keep the energy aspect of the two breaths separate. When you are removing energy from the event don’t give it back with the same breath. When you sit down to recapitulate I suggest you practice doing it for at least fifteen minutes at a time.

Depending upon the issue, you either start with exhalation breaths or inhalation. If you are very upset with the person I suggest starting with exhalation breaths. It doesn’t really matter which type of breath you do first you just do it until you feel like you don’t have anything to give or take back anymore. Then you do the other breath until you feel done with that one.

If an issue is particularly emotionally charged it may take several sessions to clear it. I know I am done with an event or series of events when I have what I call a moment of clarity. I see what my filters are and how they created the events clearly and with no judgment what so ever. Then I know I am done. It takes as long as it takes to really release an issue so allow yourself to repeat the process as often as you need.

Recapitulation can take on many forms. You can practice it daily so you can release all the stored energy from the past, you can work on specific issues, or with practice you can do it in the moment when you are feeling yourself hooking emotionally.

If you want to recapitulate your entire life you need to make a series of lists. Often our mind feels so overwhelmed at the prospect of making these list we never get started on the process. If you start the lists and add to them as people and places come up you’ll be surprised at how fast they get done. You need to make five lists. You need to make a list of all the places you have ever lived, of all the people you have ever known, of all the jobs you’ve had, all of your pets, and all of your sex partners.

I found that if I started with the places I lived I could fill in the other lists much more easily. If you can’t remember a person’s name just write the store clerk or the jerk who cut me off or Joe’s friend. As long as you know who you’re referring to that’s all that matters.

Then design a system for yourself. I find it easier to start with a house and bring in the events and people I remember from that time period. Some people chose to start with themes like relationships or a feeling like being betrayed. Whatever works for you is what works for you.

Set aside a time once a day or once a week to recapitulate. I start out by saying a short prayer and then breathe for fifteen minutes. I say a prayer of thanks and give myself a few minutes to write or think about what just came up. Strong emotions at times are normal, at other times I’ve felt numb. There is no right or wrong way of doing this as long as you do it.

Another way to use recapitulation is do events as they come up. Say you had a fight with a coworker. You sit down and start breathing. If you really allow yourself to complete the process you will not only feel better but you will see your filter system as the cause and be able to change it. Once you become really proficient with the recapitulation you can do it in the moment. While you are talking to someone you can breathe the situation in and out so you don’t have to react. If a person is yelling at you rather than take on their anger you can breathe it out. If you find yourself emotionally hooked you can take back that part of yourself by breathing in. It just takes practice and a bit of discipline and dedication to remain emotional neutral, which can be hard because we love to be right.

Inhalation breath

Obviously with each breath you inhale and exhale but with this breath you focus your attention on the inhalation. As you inhale you imagine yourself pulling energy in like you are sucking on a straw. Inhale through your mouth. It helps if you simultaneously sweep your head. Start by looking over your left shoulder and slowly inhale as you move your head to the right. Finish inhaling as you reach your right shoulder. Then exhale as you mover your head back toward your left shoulder putting no emphasis on your exhale. You are merely releasing the air in your lungs. Inhale through your mouth and exhale through your nose.

Exhalation breath

The exhalation breath focuses on releasing any energy you have attached to a memory. As you exhale imagine yourself blowing out energy like you would a candle. Start by looking over your right shoulder exhale pushing out the energy as you slowly mover your head toward your left shoulder. Finish exhaling when you reach your left shoulder and inhale as you move your head toward the right. When you inhale only fill your lungs with air. Exhale through your mouth and inhale through your nose.

What is the difference between domination and dominion?

The are totally different ways of seeing the world. The following quote from by book will give you a quick synopsis – but the best way to understand them is to work with the ideas yourself. Play with them, meditate on them, and write about them.

The Concept of Domination

I think you’ll agree that our society is based on the concept of domination, in which we seem always to be in opposition to something. Domination requires that someone is better than you or inferior to you, that events or actions are right or wrong, and people are richer or poorer. It is almost impossible to feel safe or to relax when the world is your opponent. This paradigm pervades society and contaminates most of our thinking, leading us to a limited concept of reality.

Whenever you judge yourself or someone else, or you find yourself comparing yourself with others, or in some way measuring anything in your life against an external source, your thinking is based on domination. In domination we don’t feel safe so we try to control the events in our lives, other people, or ourselves. Domination causes us to make our decisions based in fear. The best result we get when our decisions are based in fear is to generate more fear.

A society based on domination creates some very limiting beliefs about conformity and about shame. There is no room to embrace pain or limitations; you must overcome them; you must win. The very nature of domination requires us to struggle.

Living in a world founded on conflict, we feed ourselves a daily diet of insecurity. If you are honest with yourself, you’ll admit that you sometimes compare yourself to others, or even the media version of who and what you should be. You are better than or less than, you do not have enough or are not successful enough, you are too fat or too thin. You feel pressured to conform. This type of thinking is very narrow and polarized. Domination can be symbolically represented as a line.

The Concept of Dominion

If, instead, we shift to a paradigm of dominion, our vision of life becomes expansive. In dominion, everyone is part of a greater whole, everyone is an equal and integral part of the circle of life. We are no longer residing in an either/or situation; the whole and the person become one. A person truly living in dominion cannot make a choice that will harm another. Rather than being fear-based, dominion is based in love, unconditional love for the self and all other beings great and small.

Within the context of dominion, the people in our lives become our assistants instead of opponents. The idea of competition no longer makes sense nor does it have any value. It is a totally different way of viewing the world, one in which peace of mind becomes a way of life. Viewed from this perspective, life becomes limitless. We can afford the “luxury” of treating everyone and everything with compassion, love, and equality. We are able to embrace everything in our lives because we no longer need to struggle against anything–we are accepting of who we are as we are. A person is honored for merely being alive; no one is ever judged. This kind of thinking is expansive. Dominion can be symbolically represented as a sphere.

We aren’t trained to think in terms of dominion, so the concept seems frightening to many people. How do you live in a world based on domination and yet get your needs met if you remain in dominion? Won’t people just walk all over you? Well, sure, perhaps some will. However, I believe that for the most part, we receive what we give. When we are loving and non-judgmental, we are treated in a loving, non-judgmental way.

Finally, when we perceive our lives as lived in dominion, the process of our personal transformation takes on a sense of gentleness and safety. As you work through the Toltec Masteries you will learn who you really are and to love that person unconditionally. This will be extremely difficult if you remain in a judgmental state of domination.

What is Shamanism and how does it relate to spirituality?

That is a really broad question. Shamanism in a sense is a catch phrase that encompasses many native practices. The dictionary defines it as a religion embracing a belief in powerful spirits that can only be influenced by the shaman. The best definition I have ever come up with is that shamanism is a method of healing relationships – the relationship you have with yourself, your world and most importantly your spiritual essence.

For me that process is all about spirituality. When I work with someone I concentrate on assisting that person on developing an active relationship with their spiritual self. I believe the only way we can be truly happy and free is by learning how to lead our life from our spiritual center. Shamanic practices can be wonderful way to develop a relationship with that energy.

I have been studying for a long time I really want to find a teacher. Do you know where I can find one?

I often have to remind myself and others that we have our own unique path. I never advise people on their path, I respect their right to do it however they choose. Try to get quiet and listen to the whisperings of your own path. Trust your heart and live with joy and laughter and above all else don’t give your freedom or your power away. Always trust your own inner guidance, that quiet voice within us all that connects us to God. Trust your inner guidance and listen to the whispers, not your mind. You will find your own path if you listen.

We all have a wonderful teacher, our own inner wisdom. Teachers are a wonderful gift and the saying that when the student is ready the teacher will appear is so true. If we relax and follow our own path everything life is a lot more fun.

What is the Toltec path and what would be a good book to read to learn more about it?

The Toltecs are an ancient people known throughout southern Mexico as women and men of power and knowledge. The Toltec explored the nature of our physical reality in terms of its alignment with spirituality. They were in contact with the knowledge and gifts of a race I have come to call the ancient ones. The Toltec combined spirituality with the secular. They consider everything as one because it is all made of the same stuff, energy which they considered to have consciousness. They believed that consciousness was one of pure love and that it was the foundation upon which the universe operates.

The Toltec masters were called Naguals. The Toltec studies focused on three premises: awareness, the ability to stalk, and intent. The main purpose of the path is acquiring personal freedom.

Teotihuacán, the ancient city of pyramids outside Mexico City was a sacred site where they believed that man could become God. Teotihuacán remains a sacred site and still has a great deal of power and knowledge for those who know how to access it.

As far as books, mine contain the knowledge I received from my teacher don Miguel. For a female perspective I would suggest The Sorcerer’s Crossing by Taisha Abellar. A Toltec Path by Ken Eagle Feather also gives a good over view. And of course any of don Miguel Ruiz’s books are wonderful.