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27th out of 77 books
—
47 voters
Separate Reality
"A man of knowledge is free...he has no honor, no dignity, no family, no home, no country, but only life to be lived." --don Juan In 1961 a young anthropologist subjected himself to an extraordinary apprenticeship to bring back a fascinating glimpse of a Yaqui Indian's world of "non-ordinary reality" and the difficult and dangerous road a man must travel to become "a man o...more
Paperback, 272 pages
Published
August 1st 1991
by Washington Square Press
(first published January 1st 1971)
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There is another world just beyond our reach and we only need to seek it to find it.
In the 1960s Carlos Castaneda made his way to Mexico to learn more about Yaqui Indians and to do a little soul searching. What he found was a man named don Juan, a very powerful sorcerer and a force to be reckoned with. Don Juan turns Castaneda's whole world upside down by teaching him the ways of a sorcerer and the results are some of the most beautiful and touching pieces of nonfiction.
In "A Separate Reality" C...more
In the 1960s Carlos Castaneda made his way to Mexico to learn more about Yaqui Indians and to do a little soul searching. What he found was a man named don Juan, a very powerful sorcerer and a force to be reckoned with. Don Juan turns Castaneda's whole world upside down by teaching him the ways of a sorcerer and the results are some of the most beautiful and touching pieces of nonfiction.
In "A Separate Reality" C...more
Feb 02, 2013
Diana Silaghi
is currently reading it
Don Juan had once told me that a man of knowledge had predilections. I asked him to explain his statement.
"My predilection is to see," he said.
"What do you mean by that?"
"I like to see" he said, "because only by seeing can a man of knowledge know."
"What kind of things do you see?"
"Everything."
"But I also see everything and I'm not a man of knowledge."
"No. You don't see.
"I think I do."
"I tell you, you don't."
"What makes you say that, don Juan?"
"You only look at the surface of things."
"Do you mean...more
"My predilection is to see," he said.
"What do you mean by that?"
"I like to see" he said, "because only by seeing can a man of knowledge know."
"What kind of things do you see?"
"Everything."
"But I also see everything and I'm not a man of knowledge."
"No. You don't see.
"I think I do."
"I tell you, you don't."
"What makes you say that, don Juan?"
"You only look at the surface of things."
"Do you mean...more
The second book in the Castaneda series is not quite as academic as the first one. In this respect the excitment and sureal adventures of the sorcerer and apprentice kick into high gear. This is the only book that explores the sorcerer's use of 'power plants' such as Peyote, Dartura (jimson weed) and Some kind of mushrooms that get smoked. The expierences that follow make for fantastic reading but are pretty scary; so scary that I think if this were published in the mid 60's maybe the halucenoge...more
I really tried to read his book, but more I'd read more I thought that the author had spent time with Don Juan on using some kind of drug.
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June 2011
Another box of books has been reopened for cleaning, sorting, and reevaluation and lo and behold, many of the collected works of Carlos Castaneda are part of the contents.
Many years have gone but I remember this author and his works vividly. [Now don't get any ideas as to an allusion I may or may not be making] At some point I stopped purchasing more in the series and put them away. There's a 'blur' factor as I recall that happens with these stories of the metaphysical and magical journ...more
Another box of books has been reopened for cleaning, sorting, and reevaluation and lo and behold, many of the collected works of Carlos Castaneda are part of the contents.
Many years have gone but I remember this author and his works vividly. [Now don't get any ideas as to an allusion I may or may not be making] At some point I stopped purchasing more in the series and put them away. There's a 'blur' factor as I recall that happens with these stories of the metaphysical and magical journ...more
It took me nearly two years to be brave enough to pick up the sequel to Carlo's "classic". I really needed that time or I don't think I could have gotten through. That being said this book is far better than the first and I don't think I'll need as much time to pick up the third.
First off this book has about 100 pages of filler crap. Carlos goes into new depths of stupid by repeating the same questions over and over and reexamining all his experiences no matter how many times he's told not to....more
First off this book has about 100 pages of filler crap. Carlos goes into new depths of stupid by repeating the same questions over and over and reexamining all his experiences no matter how many times he's told not to....more
This book is much more eventual than THE TEACHINGS OF DON JUAN, which is actually a bad thing coming after its idea-driven predecessor. Too much stuff happening, Castaneda getting confused, and too little insight into the ways of Don Juan. Don Juan does talk a lot but nothing much could be gleaned from it compared to the first book.
But the upside is that the character of Carlos Castaneda himself acts as a foil for ourselves, when Don Juan criticizes or laughs at Carlos, we all feel Don Juan laug...more
But the upside is that the character of Carlos Castaneda himself acts as a foil for ourselves, when Don Juan criticizes or laughs at Carlos, we all feel Don Juan laug...more
Castaneda books were very popular when I was an undergraduate, and when I first started teaching in the 1970s. I remember reading all three and being amused and confused. I suspect I was mostly interested in the author's descriptions of his experiences with peyote. Years have passed, and I revisited A Separate Reality after a friend's adult son passed away. I saw imagery and a quote from Castaneda in his artwork, and thought this might be a time to see what I could learn from the book. What a di...more
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When I was an undergraduate in the mid-70's, Castaneda's "Don Juan" trilogy (with maybe a little Hermann Hesse thrown in) was what one read to be considered deep and interesting. Thirty years on, Hesse still holds up (for the most part). For Castaneda one can only ask "What was I thinking?".
But presumably that's what undergraduate time should be used for - to read broadly and indiscriminately. So not everything you read in college is going to be good.
But presumably that's what undergraduate time should be used for - to read broadly and indiscriminately. So not everything you read in college is going to be good.
This was a reread from a college-assigned book. It’s a fictional but well written account with some philosophy buried in mystical pretense. (Castaneda never declared it to be fictional.) Strange, I wish it were true, and I’m not sure why. Maybe we want there to be a different world lurking just beyond conscious perception. This book and the whole Yaqui Way of Knowledge is an appeal to the mystic want-to-be. It makes our reality seem so boring. But actually it’s not. A separate and better reality...more
گزارش ها ادامه می یابد و شگفـت آورتر می شود. همزمان شک و تردید نویسنده به واقعی بودن رویدادهایـی کـه مستقیمـا در گـیر آنها بوده نیز فزونی می یابد . این کتاب که توصیف کار آموزی از سر گرفته شـده کاستاندا از آوریل 1968 تا اکتبر 1970 اسـت بعنـوان دریچه ای برگشاده به جهان پر رمز و راز جادو و جادو گران با استقبال فراوانی روبرو می شود به شکلی که در اندک مدتی هـــــزاران نسخه از آن در سراسر جهان به فروش می رسد
I recommend Carlos Castaneda's body of work, which had a great impact on my worldview. A Separate Reality (the second in the series) describes his studies with Don Juan, the Yaqui shaman that he first wrote about in Teachings of Don Juan, a Yaqui Way of Knowledge. Like Teachings, A Separate Reality explores the multiple realities that we experience in our lives, such as our dreams, which while we're dreaming are our true universe, and our waking reality, in which our dreams are just a fantasy. A...more
anthropology or fabrication? doesn't matter--can't be too much carpe diem literature and this is excellent--i've loved page 88 for many decades--
These books are essentially a series of journals of Carlos Castaneda`s account of his studying under Don Juan - A Yacqui Indian Shaman.For anyone ever into Psychedelics or Native American Spiritualism ; Carlos Castaneda is undeniably one of the most captivating writers from the 70`s to capture the Imagination of the Dreamquest.These are engrossing reading at their finest.Some have speculated that this was nothing more then a Fictitious account used as a thesis for his Harvard Graduate doctorate....more
Oct 09, 2010
Tyler
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Tyler by:
Nigel Smith
I think the key to reading this book is to ignore judgments and questions about the content or narration (coincidentally the same lesson Castaneda is trying to learn through his own story.) Castaneda's journey involves learning to live as a warrior and continuing his education of becoming a sorcerer and learning to "see" the world rather than "look" at it, which all average humans do. Many of the themes and lessons told by don Juan are reminiscent of Eastern philosophy (i.e. the idea of self and...more
You can either view Castaneda's work as extremely well written psychedelic fiction prose or you can view it as a collection of vital truths that will help you live a better life. Either way you would be right in my opinion, and the fact that it is all most likely completely made up only makes the fiction that much more magical to me, and more true.
"It was as if the point of departure had always been myself. It was as if Don Juan had never really been there, and when I looked for him he became w...more
"It was as if the point of departure had always been myself. It was as if Don Juan had never really been there, and when I looked for him he became w...more
this guy really captivated a lot of us with his tales. so many years ago I read most of his first 4 or five novels. then I just lost interest. what a cover! don Juan says "you must feel everything, otherwise the world loses its sense".
Jimi Hendrix said much the same thing "I want to see and hear everything"
don Juan [ah that mystical man] also said "feeling important makes one heavy, clumsy, and vain. to be a man of knowledge one needs to be light and fluid."
ok don Juan...which one is it? light....more
Jimi Hendrix said much the same thing "I want to see and hear everything"
don Juan [ah that mystical man] also said "feeling important makes one heavy, clumsy, and vain. to be a man of knowledge one needs to be light and fluid."
ok don Juan...which one is it? light....more
I just read this book in a 24 hour period. Granted, I had a three hour car ride and lots of down time at work, plus found myself locked out of my apartment here in Bangkok for several hours -- so I had the time. But the point is, I couldn't put it down. I haven't enjoyed reading this much in a long time. I wish I had started with the first book in this series, but I think it will be more than fine to read it next. I recommend it if you are interested in shamanism related subjects, adventure stor...more
Still Reading/ There is probably enough evidence to prove that most if not all of what Castaneda wrote really didn't happen. Still if makes for interesting reading. Sort of reads like Jack Kerouac.
The book raises interesting questions.
- How much of it really happens.
- Even if Don Juan is real, is he really a Yaqui sorcerer, or just a crazy old man high on peyote.
Even Don Juan's own nephew seemed to feel that this was the case.
- Related to the previous question do the psychoactive drugs that Don...more
The book raises interesting questions.
- How much of it really happens.
- Even if Don Juan is real, is he really a Yaqui sorcerer, or just a crazy old man high on peyote.
Even Don Juan's own nephew seemed to feel that this was the case.
- Related to the previous question do the psychoactive drugs that Don...more
Castaneda was a graduate student studying Anthropology and was doing his thesis on Mexican Shaman and their use of regional plants and herbs to induce psychotropic effects in an attempt to cure people of various illnesses. Castaneda starts off with a scientist view, as a skeptic and later is blown away by what happens to him, which then becomes his life long pursuits. If you plan on reading these books, start with the Yaqui Way of Life, which is the first book and be prepared to be engrossed in...more
outstanding, carlos does not only differ from his previous book in the way that he thinks, but also in the way thatt he writes, there's something especiall about this book, maybe it's because carlos sttops acting like an antropologist and starts acting like what he is, a student, or maybe is genaro's and juan's humour, i prefer it from the first one and from all the next ones, it's just so easy to identify with carlo's situation that you start realising carlo's mistake's and problems and compari...more
"We learn to think about everything, and then we train our eyes to look as we think about the things we look at. We look at ourselves already thinking that we are important. And therefore we’ve got to feel important! But then when a man learns to see, he realizes that he can no longer think about the things he looks at, and if he cannot think about what he looks at everything becomes unimportant."
"Once you decide something put all your petty fears away. Your decision should vanquish them. I will...more
"Once you decide something put all your petty fears away. Your decision should vanquish them. I will...more
what an interesting journey this person took.I appreciate his goal,and I understand ,as a recreational drug user,his description of a Seperate Reality.the character in the book who describes his experience with different mind altering plants as different planes of reality.how apt.it makes mind expansion via mind altering drugs easier to grasp and enjoy.a good readfor any stoner or drug user.enjoy!
Bullshit mixed with some good ideas. Tough to take seriously when you know it's all fake, but just like a novel, the ideas are still real. However, knowing it's fake makes the synchronicities, hallucination descriptions, and explanations of feats of power really boring. Unless the behavior of dons Juan and Genaro are metaphorical for something I'm unaware of. Lots of interesting insight into rationalism, how we (humanity) perceive things, and knowledge.
This book would probably seem strange to most and only interesting to a few. For me I can only say that this book chose me, it came to me at a time in my life in which I was approaching a major spiritual awakening, though I didn't know it. This book helped push me over the edge. I feel if I would have read it any time sooner than when I did it would have been lost on me.
This book was hard to follow, I found myself asking wether or not what was being read was actually occuring or if it was part of a story. I still enjoyed it, the book has the potential to open a mind and explore different dimensions outside of this world. I really think I would have captured more of the books teachings if I had joined in the peyote smoking! :>
The second book in the Don Juan series delves deeper into the world dealing with peyote a power plant. This is probably the most favorable in my opinion of all the Castaneda books I've read thus far. For some reason I've been reading his books backwards in accordance to their release dates going from the deeply almost intangible to his beginning explorations of the world of spirit. Overall his books are somewhat repetitious but manage to go deeper into a different aspect of his experiences. It i...more
Es una clarificación del primer libro, las enseñanzas de Don Juan, Y es como el inicio de un conocimiento mas profundo de una realidad invisible descubierta por una mente exceptica.
Recomiendo escuchar la canción: "Aire" de Mecano, justo al terminar el libro.
A clarifying version of the first book.
Recomiendo escuchar la canción: "Aire" de Mecano, justo al terminar el libro.
A clarifying version of the first book.
I am going to give the same review to all the Carlos Castaneda books I read in that series, simply because they are all outstanding. I was lucky to come across Castaneda very early on my magickal path. My spells and rituals have always relied on the power of intent, and I have found no better education on how to focus your intent than in this series of books. Back then (1994) they were classifed as nonfiction. Lately, they say they are fiction. All I know is much of what is in these books works....more
Jul 27, 2007
Reece
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
you if you want to explore yourself through psychedelic drugs
A an outsider-turned-apprentice's look into native Mexican Indian (Yaqui) spirituality, which involves heavy use of psychedelic drugs (mainly peyote and mushrooms). Most of the book is fun to read, especially the passages where the narrator is having a really psychedelic experience--yet, I didn't really learn much from it. I guess if I were to trip on peyote now, I would know not to let the green fog completely envelope me, and not to look my ally in the eyes.
The ending was really unsatisfying;...more
The ending was really unsatisfying;...more
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Carlos Castaneda (December 25, 1925 – April 27, 1998) was a Peruvian-born American author. Immigration records for Carlos Cesar Arana Castaneda indicate that he was born on December 25, 1925 in Cajamarca, Perú. Records show that his surname was given by his mother Susana Castañeda Navoa. His father was Cesar Arana Burungaray. His surname appears with the ñ in many Hispanic dictionaries, even thoug...more
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“We are men and our lot in life is to learn and to be hurled into inconceivable new worlds.”
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