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The teachings of Don Juan: a yaqui Way of Knowledge
Read this when it was first published and again last week.The most interesting thing was to see how my own perceptions have changed over the years but in parallel with this book.It does question our own belief systems and for that reason I would recommend it for my friends.With a little luck I'll be around to read it again in another 20 years !
The teachings of Don Juan: a yaqui Way of Knowledge
I first read casteneda's book "Teachings..." when I was seventen, and now I am twenty-two. I am amazed by the simplisity and the coherence of this piece of writing. Casteneda has gone through many steps in his personal life, and he has, over many years, tried to let the reader into his world. Casteneda's "reality" is pure and beautiful, and it becomes "real" to us as we read. "we must look "beyond" if we want to know the truth". Thank you for pointing the way.
The teachings of Don Juan: a yaqui Way of Knowledge
After 30 years, when I first read this book, a lot has changed. Castaneda has us doing Tensegrity, and WORKING. You may wish to visit the world of Castaneda, but it won't happen without a hell of a lot of WORK. I must get to work now.
The teachings of Don Juan: a yaqui Way of Knowledge
Castaneda writes in brilliant & vivid detail his experiences with an Indian sage,guru & sorcerer on the otherworldly realities induced by hallucinogenic intake.He is a talented writer with the skill of depicting scenes that put you there,giving it a realistic feel that transforms the book into one of the landmarks of world literature & human thought.I would describe it as coming close to a "Non-Fiction Novel'.The only question I have on the entire experience is whether these "altered states of thought' had any relevance in magic or were just merely the products of a stoned mind.Closer reading inches to the former.
The teachings of Don Juan: a yaqui Way of Knowledge
The teaching of Don Juan is a good way to start with Castaneda writings. Indeed Castaneda has written a dozen books and there is a kind of progression along the different volumes.When reading Castaneda's books one must keep in mind that the use of psychotropic substances was not an end.It was used by Don Juan in order to show Carlos that his mental, his perceptions were totally subjective, relative, arbitrary.The following 99% of the way of the warrior have nothing to do with the use of those plants.In this book you will find the description of the fundamental concepts used by Don Juan : tonal/nagual, impeccability, personnal power, controlled crazyness,...A very good read to start with Castaneda's writings.
The teachings of Don Juan: a yaqui Way of Knowledge
I realize that there is some controversy surrounding this book and that there are quite a few who believe that Castaneda did not base this book on actually fact. I think that this is very likely but in the end I do not care. What I read in the book was the story of a man who is intrested in Shamanism and the exploration of realm of consciousness that one would not normally have acces to. Whether Don Juan was an actually person or simply an alter ego of Castaneda is not really the point. This is one mans journey of self discovery and I throughly enjoyed it on that level. While I would never try any of the stuff mentioned in this book I do find it inspiring in that it encourages one to look at their perception of reality and what really is ordinary. Is this a factual scholarly refrence? Probally not. Is it a very entertaining and intresting book? Without a doubt!