I first remember reading about the Assemblage Point(AP) in Carlos Castaneda’s(CC) work, of course, but I remembered its being in a different place in the Luminous Energy Field(LEF) than is actually described in the books. It’s described as an intensely bright ball of light that floats several feet behind us at the level of the crest of the right shoulder blade. Then I remember researching it online in the early 2000s and finding that it had been adopted – at least in principle and theory – by a bunch of energy healers who attempted to put it into a modern-day medical framework (much like Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM) is treated by medical practitioners in China today.)

For whatever reason though, it hasn’t seemed to take off like the Western Chakra System(WCS) has, maybe because it’s actually worth a damn. Still, I have seen some practitioners who lump it right into the WCS as a sort of mechanism that makes sense of the information that is received and processed by the chakras. I don’t know if I quite agree with that yet; I have been leaning more toward the idea that the chakras are more like, say, “guidelines” than actual rules, if you know what I mean…

The AP is not a guideline or blueprint for the ascension of kundalini energy or divine consciousness through one’s bodies like the chakra system is. I often call the AP our Locus of Perception. It is the locus or point at which our perception is assembled. It determines how individuals perceive reality and interact with the world around them. It can be well-focused and properly polished or out of focus and cruddy. If it is ‘out of place’, meaning that it does not sit where it usually sits for most people, it perceives the world in a dramatically different way from the standard perception of neurotypical people. You will find the AP askew in cases of schizophrenia, paranoid delusions, severe depression, bipolar disorder, etc.

The AP’s position may even be responsible for that weird artist friend of yours who so obviously sees the world in an entirely different light than you do…

How the AP gets out of focus, out of whack, out of place, muddied, etc., is up for debate, but I would say that we do it to ourselves through repeating patterns and forming habits. I noticed today when I got a little sad and dismissive about a thought/emotion I was having that I looked severely down to the right corner of my field, the same spot I used to stare at when I was a little boy… It seems likely to me that certain areas, directions, or ‘nodes’ within our Luminous Energy Field(LEF) process certain types of emotion and thought, and we look toward those nodes in order to enter into the reality that we prefer for processing certain types of information in certain moments.

‘Choosing a direction’ and plugging the AP into a specific node to perceive reality in a specific way in reaction to external stimuli may not feel like much of a choice, but it is. Once I found myself staring in that familiar old spot, down and to my right – a favorite of sadboys everywhere – I shifted my awareness back to a central focus, taking in everything in front of and around me all at once, using my peripheral vision – the Dreamer’s Gaze(DG). It was uncomfortable at first but almost immediately snapped me out of my ‘sad little boy’ moment.

How we end up choosing these nodes and modes of sorting out the perceptions of the AP as our primary modes of perception is as much the result of personal circumstance and environment as it is personal agency. It’s the old ‘Nature v. Nurture’ debate all over again. I think we’ve all grown up enough by now to realize that It’s never either/or. It’s always both/and. So the grooves we make in the LEF for currents of energy to habitually flow along and through our bright filaments of consciousness are as much a product of others’ perceptions, reactions, and behaviors as they are our own.

But all of this changes when the Warrior wakes… It is then that we start to take responsibility for our focus, where we place our awareness, how we use our eyes,what nodes and modes we continually plug our AP into. Then we start to become aware of our reactions to people, situations, mental and emotional disturbances, sensory stimuli, etc., and how those reactions cause us to shift our focus, internally and externally, usually toward whatever nodes and directions make us feel the most comfortable, insulated, or protected. Hopefully then we start to change the way we react to those stimuli, choosing to hold our gaze bravely forward and open, owning our field of awareness, ready for anything.

We can see how the Eye Exercises(EE) in the process of Quetzaltzin (Recapitulation) are practices to get us to face the nodes and directions of our LEF that we typically avoid, cling to, compartmentalize, overcompensate for, etc., because of different perceptions and experiences, free up the energetic charge there (whether that means destroying it or sowing a new seed within it), and then using will and intention to direct that energy somewhere else. Wherever we want, I suppose, but the point is that you should now have the freedom to do it. A Dreamer in the Tol Lineage might direct that energy into furthering her progress in the Art of Dreaming; a Taoist might collect it neutrally in the Lower Dantian(LDT), refine and circulate it throughout the internal systems of the body to increase physical health and vibrancy – ‘Refining the Elixir’.

I have often talked about Yuan Shen(YS)(Original Spirit/Consciousness/Awareness) and the AP in the same breath in my personal journals because I’ve found that the experience of YS – meaning perceiving the world from the Locus of Perception of Original Spirit – is exactly the same as perceiving from the AP in its ‘prime location.’ In order to perceive form the level of YS, your Original Spirit, one must gather the Five Lights, which should not be thought of merely as the ‘Five Elements’ or ‘Five Phases of Qi’ but as our Original Spirit’s fractured modes of perception, i.e., the physical senses. When the Five Lights are not just gathered but unified, the perception of the world that one experiences is exactly the same as focusing through the AP in its ‘prime location.’

So it could be said that the AP is the mechanism, locus, or lens through which our Original Consciousness(Yuan Shen) perceives. Of course, there will be plenty of debate about the particulars of these statements. I’m sure modern Taoists will tell me I’m completely off-base, but this is how I’ve experienced these phenomena over the years.

More Info on the AP:
1. **Perception and Reality**: The position of the Assemblage Point influences how one perceives and experiences reality. When it is in its usual position, individuals perceive the world in a common, everyday way. However, when the Assemblage Point shifts, it can lead to altered states of perception, allowing one to see and experience different realities.

2. **Shifting the Assemblage Point**: According to Castaneda, through practices such as meditation, physical exercises, or the use of psychotropic plants, one can intentionally shift the Assemblage Point. These shifts can lead to new insights, expanded awareness, and profound changes in perception.

3. **Stability and Flexibility**: While most people have a fixed Assemblage Point that provides a stable, consistent perception of reality, shamans and other practitioners can develop the ability to move their Assemblage Point at will. This flexibility allows them to access different states of consciousness and gain deeper knowledge.

4. **Energetic Implications**: The Assemblage Point is not just a metaphorical concept but also has energetic implications. It is part of the individual’s energy field and plays a role in their overall energetic configuration. Shifting the Assemblage Point can lead to changes in one’s energy body and overall vitality.

5. **Path to Knowledge**: For Castaneda and the practitioners of his teachings, learning to control and shift the Assemblage Point is a crucial part of the path to knowledge and enlightenment. It is through these shifts that one can break free from ordinary limitations and access higher levels of understanding.