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The Teachings of Don Juan #9
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After six years of study and meditation, the author presents a book which takes the reader on a journey of the soul via the teachings of the great sorcerer, Don Juan. Like layers of an onion, the author reveals that there are worlds existing within our own that can be visited through dreams.
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First published December 1, 1993
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About the author
Carlos Castaneda
163 books2,611 followersCarlos Castaneda was an Latin-American author.
Starting with The Teachings of Don Juan in 1968, Castaneda wrote a series of books that describe his training in shamanism, particularly with a group whose lineage descended from the Toltecs.
The books, narrated in the first person, relate his experiences under the tutelage of a man that Castaneda claimed was a Yaqui "Man of Knowledge" named don Juan Matus. His 12 books have sold more than 28 million copies in 17 languages.
Critics have suggested that they are works of fiction; supporters claim the books are either true or at least valuable works of philosophy.
Starting with The Teachings of Don Juan in 1968, Castaneda wrote a series of books that describe his training in shamanism, particularly with a group whose lineage descended from the Toltecs.
The books, narrated in the first person, relate his experiences under the tutelage of a man that Castaneda claimed was a Yaqui "Man of Knowledge" named don Juan Matus. His 12 books have sold more than 28 million copies in 17 languages.
Critics have suggested that they are works of fiction; supporters claim the books are either true or at least valuable works of philosophy.
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June 14, 2025
VASTLY Entertaining! But is it all TRUE?
My own dreams take me places. Last night, for example, I dreamed I was a high school senior again, and followed a life quest far more 'by the books' than the road I ended up taking!
My own real road was a nonconforming zany zigzag one. In this dream, though, I confirmed the establishment mindset of solid hopes and tangible results in my life path.
It was a confirmation of my parent's wishes, so I now recognize it was provoked by worry about my Dad. Now 98, he seems weaker - but, we'll know more when my sis visits him tomorrow.
Anyway, Castaneda tells us our dreams are signs of a multiplicity of worlds within us, and in the 1980's I took everything in the book at face value.
But then the Evil of the World seeped into my mind, as it always will!
I began to have second thoughts about Dreaming. Yikes.
At any rate, when I read C.S. Lewis' Great Divorce, my fears were assuaged: our dreams can presage our otherworldly Future, but our otherworldly Reality is that the next world is like a Dream turned very solid and real.
For example, the Bitterness of Hell is TANGIBLE.
(If you don't know, don't go there.)
And the joys of Heaven are SOLID AND PRACTICAL.
(If you DO know that, change your life for the better!)
Case closed, for me, because of that second 5 star book.
So if you start Dreaming, keep it simple..
Or else take it with a very chunky grain of salt!
My own dreams take me places. Last night, for example, I dreamed I was a high school senior again, and followed a life quest far more 'by the books' than the road I ended up taking!
My own real road was a nonconforming zany zigzag one. In this dream, though, I confirmed the establishment mindset of solid hopes and tangible results in my life path.
It was a confirmation of my parent's wishes, so I now recognize it was provoked by worry about my Dad. Now 98, he seems weaker - but, we'll know more when my sis visits him tomorrow.
Anyway, Castaneda tells us our dreams are signs of a multiplicity of worlds within us, and in the 1980's I took everything in the book at face value.
But then the Evil of the World seeped into my mind, as it always will!
I began to have second thoughts about Dreaming. Yikes.
At any rate, when I read C.S. Lewis' Great Divorce, my fears were assuaged: our dreams can presage our otherworldly Future, but our otherworldly Reality is that the next world is like a Dream turned very solid and real.
For example, the Bitterness of Hell is TANGIBLE.
(If you don't know, don't go there.)
And the joys of Heaven are SOLID AND PRACTICAL.
(If you DO know that, change your life for the better!)
Case closed, for me, because of that second 5 star book.
So if you start Dreaming, keep it simple..
Or else take it with a very chunky grain of salt!
January 16, 2014
Carlos Castaneda is certainly considered required reading for any person even slightly interested in the occult, ancient practices, magic, dreams, altered states of existence or completely different planes thereof. This one was the first book by him I finished, if you exclude The Teachings of Don Juan which I began reading in Spanish but never finished because my Spanish just isn't as good as I'd like it to be yet.
Contrary to other of his works, this one he wrote many years after the events he describes therein had come to pass: apparently they had been buried into his subconscious because of the altered state, the second attention, he had (mostly) been in at the time. Only almost 20 years after his apprenticeship into understanding and navigating the world of dreams by Don Juan was he able to bring what he learned to the forefront of his consciousness and then put it on paper.
I liked The Art of Dreaming, especially the first half. I read that when I was in the coach from Athens to Sofia and it helped make the journey much more dreamy; it made me feel that it was a passage in more ways than one: in the physical sense -travelling from one point of the Balkans to another- but also in this transcendental sense, this thing you get when you learn about the details of a profound truth. I came into The Art of Dreaming expecting something practical -Castaneda's "Lucid Dreaming for Dummies" handbook- especially after learning that it was he who popularised the technique of looking at your hands as a reality check, something I picked up and have used successfully numerous times. The beginning of the book was entirely like that: it was him learning about the different methods of dreaming consciously and going through the "gates of dreaming", as well as finding out about the complicated intricacies of the assemblage point and its manipulation. That link is a good summary of the book's most interesting "academic" part.
But, like Castaneda himself in the book, or at least the person Castaneda wrote himself to be, I too need my objectivity, for that's the way I was taught to perceive the world, as Don Juan would have said. Therefore, as the book became weirder and weirder and Castaneda strayed farther and farther away from what my dream reality -even in my most successful endeavours in lucidity- has looked like and started going into the dimension of inorganic beings, alien energy scouts and the like, I started losing my point of reference and ultimately my interest. By the end of the book his narrative had become so convoluted that I couldn't figure out any part of what was happening - perhaps an apt representation of Castaneda's own recollection of his strange experiences.
What however made things more interesting for me was this article I came across shortly before finishing the book which uncovers Castaneda as a complete fraud. Apparently after the success of his first few books, which, it is implied, were also figments of his imagination, Castaneda became a sort of cult-leader figure; when he was exposed he disappeared from public view by secluding himself in a villa together with three of his female companion sorcerers. The story is complicated in many levels; I can only say that the narrative of his books and what happened in real life is difficult to tell apart. In fact I'm sure that even if Castaneda proved to be okay after all (a possibility we still can't discount since, from where I'm standing, the revelation of the hoax can be a hoax as much as the supposed hoax itself) the automatic reaction from a scientific and rationalist status quo seeking to disprove just to confirm its dominance would have been no different.
At this point several possibilities and parallel narratives have arisen: the story of the book itself; the real events which inspired Castaneda if we are to accept that his books are only adaptations of what really transpired; the reality of his life undescribed in the books - what we would see in a Castaneda behind-the-scenes; and the dirt that has come out that Castaneda was a complete hoax, which is 100% in line with "skeptic" views. All these interpretations exist simultaneously in a sort of entangled limbo: any one of them could be true and the fact wouldn't negate the veracity of the other versions - they could all be true simultaneously. Additionally, on a meta level each one of these stories has something different to tell: about the human willingness to believe and the power of belief itself, about the unfathomability of the universe, about the dogmatism of contemporary intellect, about how powerful your fictional story can be to be able to ultimately convince even yourself that it's the truth - especially if millions of others already believe it to be so.
In another interpretation, you could see how these are all just different layers of meaning, just like Don Juan described reality as an onion consisting of layers of universes. The hoax coexists with the book's story and it's only a matter of intent, a matter of the position of your assemblage point what it is that you'll end up keeping from the whole affair.
Even if Castaneda hallucinated everything he ever wrote about, this book has made me think in ways I'm sure were not intentional but have arisen anyway as part of the complexity of being a thinking but chiefly intuitive feeling person alive in 2014. If this book is a valuable collection of techniques that -as far as I can tell- really work and a story of them being put to use, where does the fiction begin?
Contrary to other of his works, this one he wrote many years after the events he describes therein had come to pass: apparently they had been buried into his subconscious because of the altered state, the second attention, he had (mostly) been in at the time. Only almost 20 years after his apprenticeship into understanding and navigating the world of dreams by Don Juan was he able to bring what he learned to the forefront of his consciousness and then put it on paper.
I liked The Art of Dreaming, especially the first half. I read that when I was in the coach from Athens to Sofia and it helped make the journey much more dreamy; it made me feel that it was a passage in more ways than one: in the physical sense -travelling from one point of the Balkans to another- but also in this transcendental sense, this thing you get when you learn about the details of a profound truth. I came into The Art of Dreaming expecting something practical -Castaneda's "Lucid Dreaming for Dummies" handbook- especially after learning that it was he who popularised the technique of looking at your hands as a reality check, something I picked up and have used successfully numerous times. The beginning of the book was entirely like that: it was him learning about the different methods of dreaming consciously and going through the "gates of dreaming", as well as finding out about the complicated intricacies of the assemblage point and its manipulation. That link is a good summary of the book's most interesting "academic" part.
But, like Castaneda himself in the book, or at least the person Castaneda wrote himself to be, I too need my objectivity, for that's the way I was taught to perceive the world, as Don Juan would have said. Therefore, as the book became weirder and weirder and Castaneda strayed farther and farther away from what my dream reality -even in my most successful endeavours in lucidity- has looked like and started going into the dimension of inorganic beings, alien energy scouts and the like, I started losing my point of reference and ultimately my interest. By the end of the book his narrative had become so convoluted that I couldn't figure out any part of what was happening - perhaps an apt representation of Castaneda's own recollection of his strange experiences.
What however made things more interesting for me was this article I came across shortly before finishing the book which uncovers Castaneda as a complete fraud. Apparently after the success of his first few books, which, it is implied, were also figments of his imagination, Castaneda became a sort of cult-leader figure; when he was exposed he disappeared from public view by secluding himself in a villa together with three of his female companion sorcerers. The story is complicated in many levels; I can only say that the narrative of his books and what happened in real life is difficult to tell apart. In fact I'm sure that even if Castaneda proved to be okay after all (a possibility we still can't discount since, from where I'm standing, the revelation of the hoax can be a hoax as much as the supposed hoax itself) the automatic reaction from a scientific and rationalist status quo seeking to disprove just to confirm its dominance would have been no different.
At this point several possibilities and parallel narratives have arisen: the story of the book itself; the real events which inspired Castaneda if we are to accept that his books are only adaptations of what really transpired; the reality of his life undescribed in the books - what we would see in a Castaneda behind-the-scenes; and the dirt that has come out that Castaneda was a complete hoax, which is 100% in line with "skeptic" views. All these interpretations exist simultaneously in a sort of entangled limbo: any one of them could be true and the fact wouldn't negate the veracity of the other versions - they could all be true simultaneously. Additionally, on a meta level each one of these stories has something different to tell: about the human willingness to believe and the power of belief itself, about the unfathomability of the universe, about the dogmatism of contemporary intellect, about how powerful your fictional story can be to be able to ultimately convince even yourself that it's the truth - especially if millions of others already believe it to be so.
In another interpretation, you could see how these are all just different layers of meaning, just like Don Juan described reality as an onion consisting of layers of universes. The hoax coexists with the book's story and it's only a matter of intent, a matter of the position of your assemblage point what it is that you'll end up keeping from the whole affair.
Even if Castaneda hallucinated everything he ever wrote about, this book has made me think in ways I'm sure were not intentional but have arisen anyway as part of the complexity of being a thinking but chiefly intuitive feeling person alive in 2014. If this book is a valuable collection of techniques that -as far as I can tell- really work and a story of them being put to use, where does the fiction begin?
June 5, 2014
Though I have loved all Castaneda’s books so far, I have a predilection for this one. This is because I have a particular interest in dreaming, and “dreaming” (the kind of dreaming Don Juan teaches about).
Don Juan said “Through ‘dreaming’ we can perceive other worlds … we can feel how ‘dreaming’ opens up those other realms”. He calls “dreaming” the “gateway to infinity”. “Dreaming” is the sorcerers’ practical way of putting ordinary dreams to use.
We learn that the whole universe is energy. Don Juan taught his apprentices to perceive energy directly.
Human beings are luminous balls and the crucial feature of the luminous ball is a spot of intense brilliance on a place at the height of the shoulder blades, at an arm’s length from the person’s body, which is termed the assemblage point. This enables us to perceive, and when the assemblage point dislodges itself from its usual spot, our usual behaviour, awareness and perception are changed.
Much of the book deals with changing the assemblage point and the consequences of this. Don Juan can make Carlos’ assemblage point shift to another position to enable him to reach a heightened state of awareness, otherwise termed the “second attention”.
There are seven entrances, perceived as obstacles, called the seven gates of dreaming. We reach the first gate when we become aware that we’re falling asleep. This is achieved by intending it – “to wish without wishing, to do without doing”.
Carlos reached the first gate of dreaming but by another way, by having “a gigantically real dream” – he wanders though a city until he becomes completely exhausted.
When dreaming you must focus your gaze on anything of your choice as the starting point, for example, your hands. Then shift your gaze to other items and look at them in brief glances. Then go back to the item you started with.
Carlos practices focusing and holding his dreaming attention on the items of his dreams. He learns that he must “redeploy” his energy by losing self-importance. Self-importance is “not only the sorcerers’ supreme enemy but the nemesis of mankind”
The city he visited in his dream, where he got exhausted, was “out of this world”. Don Juan was with him, but he “saw” the city not as a city but as energy.
You reach the second gate of dreaming when you wake from a dream into another dream. Carlos reaches this second gate, but again he does it in another manner, by “changing dreams in an orderly and precise manner”. He used the items of a dream to trigger another dream.
We’re introduced to the inorganic beings, and their world, the most fascinating aspect of this book. Two inorganic beings begin to appear in Carlos’ dreams. They just stand there and stare at him. One day when in the hills with Don Juan, Carlos wrestles with one of them. By the ensuing energy exchange Carlos creates a lasting attachment to the being, which he later encounters again in the inorganic beings’ world.
To cut a long story short, Carlos continues to journey into this world in his dreams, and becomes practically addicted to doing so, though warned by Don Juan that it is dangerous. He encounters a scout disguised as a little girl who is trapped there, merges with her in an attempt to save her but loses all his energy. He is rescued by the combined efforts of Don Juan and anther sorcerer called Carol Tiggs, who travel into this world physically.
An interesting feature of Carlos’ sojourns in the inorganic beings’ world is the disembodied voice of the dream emissary, which provides him with useful information. The voice always speaks the truth, so he can trust the information given. But the inorganic beings as such are not really to be trusted, because they want Carlos’ energy and are eager for him to stay in their world forever.
In one of the final chapters Carlos has an exciting but dangerous adventure with Carol Tiggs in another world. Finally, he is introduced to the “death defier”, one of the old sorcerers, and is gone for nine days. He is also fortunate to survive this sojourn.
I found this book to be fascinating, engrossing and exciting, in fact unputdownable. I found the material presented therein to be extremely edifying but challenging.
I highly recommend that you read the book. I will miss reading it, but now will tackle some of Castaneda’s previous books, which I have not yet read,
Don Juan said “Through ‘dreaming’ we can perceive other worlds … we can feel how ‘dreaming’ opens up those other realms”. He calls “dreaming” the “gateway to infinity”. “Dreaming” is the sorcerers’ practical way of putting ordinary dreams to use.
We learn that the whole universe is energy. Don Juan taught his apprentices to perceive energy directly.
Human beings are luminous balls and the crucial feature of the luminous ball is a spot of intense brilliance on a place at the height of the shoulder blades, at an arm’s length from the person’s body, which is termed the assemblage point. This enables us to perceive, and when the assemblage point dislodges itself from its usual spot, our usual behaviour, awareness and perception are changed.
Much of the book deals with changing the assemblage point and the consequences of this. Don Juan can make Carlos’ assemblage point shift to another position to enable him to reach a heightened state of awareness, otherwise termed the “second attention”.
There are seven entrances, perceived as obstacles, called the seven gates of dreaming. We reach the first gate when we become aware that we’re falling asleep. This is achieved by intending it – “to wish without wishing, to do without doing”.
Carlos reached the first gate of dreaming but by another way, by having “a gigantically real dream” – he wanders though a city until he becomes completely exhausted.
When dreaming you must focus your gaze on anything of your choice as the starting point, for example, your hands. Then shift your gaze to other items and look at them in brief glances. Then go back to the item you started with.
Carlos practices focusing and holding his dreaming attention on the items of his dreams. He learns that he must “redeploy” his energy by losing self-importance. Self-importance is “not only the sorcerers’ supreme enemy but the nemesis of mankind”
The city he visited in his dream, where he got exhausted, was “out of this world”. Don Juan was with him, but he “saw” the city not as a city but as energy.
You reach the second gate of dreaming when you wake from a dream into another dream. Carlos reaches this second gate, but again he does it in another manner, by “changing dreams in an orderly and precise manner”. He used the items of a dream to trigger another dream.
We’re introduced to the inorganic beings, and their world, the most fascinating aspect of this book. Two inorganic beings begin to appear in Carlos’ dreams. They just stand there and stare at him. One day when in the hills with Don Juan, Carlos wrestles with one of them. By the ensuing energy exchange Carlos creates a lasting attachment to the being, which he later encounters again in the inorganic beings’ world.
To cut a long story short, Carlos continues to journey into this world in his dreams, and becomes practically addicted to doing so, though warned by Don Juan that it is dangerous. He encounters a scout disguised as a little girl who is trapped there, merges with her in an attempt to save her but loses all his energy. He is rescued by the combined efforts of Don Juan and anther sorcerer called Carol Tiggs, who travel into this world physically.
An interesting feature of Carlos’ sojourns in the inorganic beings’ world is the disembodied voice of the dream emissary, which provides him with useful information. The voice always speaks the truth, so he can trust the information given. But the inorganic beings as such are not really to be trusted, because they want Carlos’ energy and are eager for him to stay in their world forever.
In one of the final chapters Carlos has an exciting but dangerous adventure with Carol Tiggs in another world. Finally, he is introduced to the “death defier”, one of the old sorcerers, and is gone for nine days. He is also fortunate to survive this sojourn.
I found this book to be fascinating, engrossing and exciting, in fact unputdownable. I found the material presented therein to be extremely edifying but challenging.
I highly recommend that you read the book. I will miss reading it, but now will tackle some of Castaneda’s previous books, which I have not yet read,
June 18, 2020
As part of my ongoing quest to become more adept at lucid dreaming, I decided to branch a little into the occult, trying to be open minded and to see if there really is something of value to be found there, since it seems that many mystical traditions value the practice of conscious dreaming. Unfortunately I've had some poor luck so far. First I was disappointed by Sylvan Muldoon's Projection of the Astral Body, and now Castaneda's The Art of Dreaming has equally failed to impress me.
Aside from just a couple useful mnemonic techniques that might be useful for triggering you to consider whether you are dreaming during a dream, this book is largely drivel. It is full of dialog and narration that appear to be saying something and leading somewhere, but in reality say nothing and lead nowhere. Much of it makes no sense at all. The dialog between the narrator and don Juan is often so disjointed, I figure Castaneda must have been high most of the time he was writing this. There are nothing but a couple sketchy, inconsistently handled ideas that form the basis of any kind of plot or message in this book.
About a third of the way in I began to find myself annoyed by how repetitive it was. The narrator is constantly objecting with fear or incomprehension to don Juan's statements, often without any context to make the reader understand why he is having this reaction. Then he either demands an explanation from don Juan, who often brushes aside this request by suddenly trivializing his concerns in ways that would be contradictory to his earlier statements if you could actually pin down anything concrete in them, or he silently voices some childish misgivings that also make little sense in the context.
Sometimes these passages are astoundingly nonsensical. Once, in Chapter 9, after some exposition by don Juan, the narrator states, "I could easily have argued that I did not know what he was talking about; but I knew." What? A statement like this might make sense of someone were accusing you of a misdeed, but the context was don Juan trying to warn him about something. Or take this example from the last chapter: "She had defined for me something I considered undefinable, although I did not know what it was that she had defined." I guess to some people this sounds deep, but it's just, as I said, drivel. Writing words that don't mean anything while trying to make them seem like they mean something profound.
The whole business about assemblage points and the shifting of them, and inorganic beings and the dimensions they inhabit, all sounds vaguely interesting on first glance, but it's only developed very sketchily in these annoyingly repetitive conversations about them that just drag on and on, and in the context of supposedly "perilous" adventures which are ridiculously banal, like the "inorganic beings" kidnapping the narrator and Carol Tiggs and putting them in a dream-hotel, which they can only escape from by not putting on the dream-clothes they find in the room and not going in the dream-bed or looking out the dream-windows, so that they wouldn't forget about the real world.
Many of the assertions made about the nature and sources of energy, assemblage points, the different worlds inhabited by organic and inorganic beings, etc., often seemed contradictory, but as I mentioned before, usually the statements are just short of being concrete enough to actually pin down any contradictions. I guess some would say something about how our familiar logic doesn't apply in such realms, blah, blah, blah, you have to experience it to understand, blah, blah, blah, but I think in the end the problem here is that we have a poorly written story by a charlatan who wasn't clever enough to give a convincing, internally consistent form to his hokum and instead dressed it up in shoddy ambiguities.
After reading this, I really can't understand why anyone would take Castaneda seriously, much less enjoy this book enough that it has a 4.1 star average on Goodreads. Bizarre.
Aside from just a couple useful mnemonic techniques that might be useful for triggering you to consider whether you are dreaming during a dream, this book is largely drivel. It is full of dialog and narration that appear to be saying something and leading somewhere, but in reality say nothing and lead nowhere. Much of it makes no sense at all. The dialog between the narrator and don Juan is often so disjointed, I figure Castaneda must have been high most of the time he was writing this. There are nothing but a couple sketchy, inconsistently handled ideas that form the basis of any kind of plot or message in this book.
About a third of the way in I began to find myself annoyed by how repetitive it was. The narrator is constantly objecting with fear or incomprehension to don Juan's statements, often without any context to make the reader understand why he is having this reaction. Then he either demands an explanation from don Juan, who often brushes aside this request by suddenly trivializing his concerns in ways that would be contradictory to his earlier statements if you could actually pin down anything concrete in them, or he silently voices some childish misgivings that also make little sense in the context.
Sometimes these passages are astoundingly nonsensical. Once, in Chapter 9, after some exposition by don Juan, the narrator states, "I could easily have argued that I did not know what he was talking about; but I knew." What? A statement like this might make sense of someone were accusing you of a misdeed, but the context was don Juan trying to warn him about something. Or take this example from the last chapter: "She had defined for me something I considered undefinable, although I did not know what it was that she had defined." I guess to some people this sounds deep, but it's just, as I said, drivel. Writing words that don't mean anything while trying to make them seem like they mean something profound.
The whole business about assemblage points and the shifting of them, and inorganic beings and the dimensions they inhabit, all sounds vaguely interesting on first glance, but it's only developed very sketchily in these annoyingly repetitive conversations about them that just drag on and on, and in the context of supposedly "perilous" adventures which are ridiculously banal, like the "inorganic beings" kidnapping the narrator and Carol Tiggs and putting them in a dream-hotel, which they can only escape from by not putting on the dream-clothes they find in the room and not going in the dream-bed or looking out the dream-windows, so that they wouldn't forget about the real world.
Many of the assertions made about the nature and sources of energy, assemblage points, the different worlds inhabited by organic and inorganic beings, etc., often seemed contradictory, but as I mentioned before, usually the statements are just short of being concrete enough to actually pin down any contradictions. I guess some would say something about how our familiar logic doesn't apply in such realms, blah, blah, blah, you have to experience it to understand, blah, blah, blah, but I think in the end the problem here is that we have a poorly written story by a charlatan who wasn't clever enough to give a convincing, internally consistent form to his hokum and instead dressed it up in shoddy ambiguities.
After reading this, I really can't understand why anyone would take Castaneda seriously, much less enjoy this book enough that it has a 4.1 star average on Goodreads. Bizarre.
February 9, 2017
A few pieces of quality lucid dreaming advice embedded in a towering monument to human suggestibility. Moderately entertaining, but not very efficient.
August 2, 2016
Not entirely sure what I just read.
February 6, 2012
If this is a work of fiction, as many of the critics claim (and I believe they are probably right, although it could have been partially based on, or inspired by, real people and events), I would say Castaneda has one hell of spectacular imagination. Throughout the book, I was constantly reminded of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass; except in this case Alice is a hot-tempered adult male anthropologist. The chapter in which he meets the Death Defier is absolutely thrilling to the end.
September 30, 2014
I love it..I absolutely loved it, the best book i read for a while, my first book for carlos, and definitely i will read his other books, this book was an eye opener for me and proved itself very helpful, explained many matters in plain ways, a humble extremely beneficial book...somehow he reminded me of Paulo Coelho ( in means of spirituality not writing), i felt like their orders had some connection...just a thought
i wished the book didn't end, however it ended, but my dreaming continues...
i wished the book didn't end, however it ended, but my dreaming continues...
February 24, 2019
Książka prowadzi czytelnika na ciekawe terytoria, kusi i odpycha jednocześnie. To ciekawy zapis doświadczeń z otwieraniem kolejnych bram snu. Subtelnie zachęca do własnych poszukiwań, a denerwuje tym, że część pytań zadanych Don Juanowi tak łatwo autor zostawia bez odpowiedzi, choć może właśnie to prowokuje do eksperymentów 😉
May 3, 2013
So deep... Truly a work of art in terms of consciousness, if not with his literal writing style which can be somewhat tiresome at times. But, it's true - you'll never look at the world or dreaming the same again after reading this!
July 10, 2013
Amazing.And yes, you can dream with others and move in your dreams.!!!!!
February 6, 2018
"انسان غیر از موجودیت فیزیکی یک کالبد انرژی دارد. انرژی قابل دیدن است. با تغییر نقطه تمرکز می توان بین دنیاهای مختلف حرکت کرد". خلاصه ای از اعتقادات جادوگران (شمنهای) مکزیکی که در این کتاب به صورت روایت تجربیات نویسنده در تعامل با دون خوآن آمده است.
April 13, 2017
Livre pas fini. Ce n'est pas que ce n'est pas intéressant, mais c'est un peu trop... mystique? perché? je ne sais quel mot choisir - pour moi. Au niveau littéraire c'est pauvre - "il m'a dit alors je lui ai dit et il m'a répondu, alors je lui ai dit" - je caricature à peine. C'est donc extrêmement descriptif, ce qui n'est pas forcément gênant en soi, mais quand le sujet est un peu trop... éloigné de mes intérêts, ça plombe forcément la lecture. J'aurais voulu y accrocher, mais non, raté, ou en tout cas pas assez pour continuer la lecture au-delà de la page 68.
L'argument de Don Juan était que nous consacrons la majeure partie de notre énergie à entretenir notre suffisance. C'est tout à fait évident, vu notre souci jamais assouvi de présentation de notre moi, et cette autre préoccupation de savoir si oui ou non nous sommes admirés, ou aimés, ou reconnus. Son raisonnement le conduisait à dire que si nous étions capables de perdre un tant soi peu de cette importance, deux choses extraordinaires surviendraient. Primo, nous libérerions notre énergie de la tentative de maintenir l'illusoire idée de notre grandeur ; secundo, nous disposerions de cette énergie pour entrer dans la seconde attention et jeter un coup d'oeil sur la véritable grandeur de l'univers.
September 26, 2024
Me han pasado cosas muy extrañas en esta vida... en principio la vida misma, luego la consciencia, y ya, de ahí en fuera... la experimentación de los objetos físicos, con todas sus leyes físicas, después los objetos que se crean dentro de esta consciencia, incluidas las “sombras” mentales que hacemos tanto de los objetos físicos como los conscientes, luego... la forma (¿baile?) de cómo es que "lo que percibimos" hemos de "regresarlo" a "la realidad" (sesgada por lo que "sabemos" de ella) mediante nuestras acciones para seguir actuando este "sentido" que nos ha sido heredado tanto biológica como conscientemente, aportando cosas pequeñitas pero muy valiosas en el esquema total aunque al instante pareciera que no, y así... ya que se tiene este panorama (súper simplifique todo, sorry), de esta realidad-parcial "base" que compartimos todos, ahí es cuando, a veces, suceden cosas que, como "rayón" de aguja sobre disco de vinilo suceden "anomalías" que te hacen dudar o de la realidad o de tu sanidad. No es nada agradable ni cómodo. Bueno como sea, personalmente, gracias a Dios que las cosas "mega-raras" me dejaron de ocurrir antes de los 18, ahora son cosas sencillas que me da igual que sucedan, además pasan una vez cada como 5 años (o "ya me acostumbré" o "deje de verlas", lo digo como error personal).
Las cosas chamánicas-nahualeras de los libros de Castaneda enseñan mucho, aquí, el punto que no me atrae mucho literariamente, o de cualquier otra forma, es Castaneda mismo.
Bueno, buena lectura, me hace recordar cosas soooooooo weird... a tal grado que no puedo ni ponerlas en letra. Tal vez, algún día llegue de nuevo a las plantas de mis pies, o tal vez no, sólo quisiera saber qué pasó, en dónde estoy y en qué momento vivo, aunque sé que eso es imposible porque creo que no depende de mi.
Hablando de esto, del momento... es increíble como el infinito de posibilidades totales (y mucho más allá…) para nosotros, con todos nuestros momentos, vividos y por vivir, momentos "controlados", "ordenados", con "sentido" o sin el, vividos por "nosotros", o no... están metidos e “impresos” en el tiempo (lo cual hace que todo, a nuestra percepción, sea emergente), individual o colectivo, desde antes que la materia fuera consciente y, en fin... todos los potenciales del universo entero… uffffffffff… me salte un muchísimas de ideas aburridamente redundantes pero es... justo esto, eso es lo raro que me vuela la cabeza si pienso en ello... ... ... para nosotros, tooooodo eso, sólo puede habitar (incluidos a “nosotros” mismos) ahí, en eso... El Momento y… … … ¡y ya se fue! De verdad, ¿qué carajos es eso, El Momento, donde todo "se contiene" ¿Es lo único que podemos ser o aspirar a ser? ¿percibirlo completamente y de donde emerge?, es lo que, de verdad, aparte de la creación, ¿nos han regalado los dioses (universo) pues es intrínseco a nuestra naturaleza, donado, emergente? ¿Existe?
Sin esto, El Momento, ¿habría realidad para nosotros, nuestra realidad? Podría ser que El Momento sea una ilusión, consecuencia natural de nuestra -naturaleza emergente perceptiva- (evolución biológica), la cual por estar, por -principios creadores de órdenes originales y últimos-, dentro de la flecha del tiempo, que tenemos que habitar y habitarlo forzosamente, pero... por eso mismo, si me pongo a pensar pausadamente, como mencioné hace rato, tal vez el momento ni existe (sólo existe para los que lo pueden percibir) y esa sí que sería... no sé qué sería pero ¡qué miedo!
¿Por qué no podemos habitar dos momentos al mismo tiempo pero sí que tenemos a la mano un potencial infinito (incomprensible e inaccesible en su mayoría) para que este sea…? ¿Cómo funciona esto? El momento, más el aparato sensorial evolutivo biológico que hemos heredado, cerebro, conciencia, planeta, ecosistemas, espaciotiempo, redes de todo tipo y universo… ¿es todo como un fractal anidado, con sentido en cada nivel, justificado por las cosas que habitan en cada nivel, de la misma Conciencia Total (si se le quiere llamar Dios, adelante, me da igual) de la cual venimos y sólo se manifiesta para nosotros en cada Momento? ¿Qué. Es. Eso?
En serio, un momento animado por el poder del Universo, dura infinitamente menos que un parpadeo… crear un momento sería igual de "caro" que volver a hacer todo un Universo completo (con sus multiversos) todo en operación perfecta (a nuestra percepción) para que ese momento se mantenga y sea perceptible y habite, en lo que sea que esto mismo "habite" en su estabilidad y nosotros seamos en El… ... ... ... ... hummmm a lo cual regreso… ¿qué es El Momento? o, más fácil pero igualmente incomprensible: ¿qué es el momento para nosotros? ¿Agradecemos lo suficiente, si eso es lo que se debe de hacer, por cada momento? O… “se nos dió el reino” y nunca sabremos amar nada más allá de "nosotros" o nuestra individualidad negando que, de verdad se necesita un universo entero, perfecto en Amor hacia nuestra Creación pasada-presente-futura, para poder habitar cada momento por quienes lo tengan que habitar (preferentemente en Amor). Pareciera que TODO tiende a querer habitar El Momento y permanecer ahí el mayor tiempo posible, como decía antes, en Amor porque no hay otra opción... en sus últimas consecuencias o análisis final. O ¿es el sesgo cognitivo de nuestra propia naturaleza pues, ni existe, o sólo lo hace falsamente para nosotros?
Esta canción me sirve cuando pienso en esto.
Bueno... ¿a seguir haciendo lo que hemos hecho siempre? construir torres de Babel y llorar porque "nos las tiran", hahahahaha, sin darnos cuenta que la creación perfecta somos aquellos que habitamos dicho Momento. Pero ¡hey! hay ruinas de las cuales aprender supongo.
RANDOM 1
La conciencia ¿es más rara que el momento o al revés?
RANDOM 2
Estoy mal citando este chiste o comentario astuto pero es cierto, va algo así: “Deja grandes cantidades de hidrógeno en un universo, súmale billones de años y, de repente… el hidrógeno, se va a empezar a contemplar a sí mismo”.
RANDOM 3
No tiene nada que ver con nada de este “review” pero el アニメ de バケモ���の子 pone un buen ejemplo de Amor… y de… según yo, cómo es que trabajan el hemisferio izquierdo y derecho de nuestro cerebro al interactuar para resolver (con nuestras capacidades) cosas sustanciales en el universo ajustadas nuestro nivel de existencia y percepción.
Citas:
1.
"En el universo de la energía existen únicamente individuos solos rodeados por el infinito."
NOTA: Esto, mientras se vive, no sé por qué se ve de reojo. También, esta de la chin**da tenerlo presente. Si se trasciende, somos el infinito y el infinito esta haciendo un expresión de el mismo lo cual realmente es uno mismo y también esta "la sombra" de lo que llamamos uno mismo para nosotros mismos, un individuo finito proveniente del infinito.
2.
"Puesto que su esfera es la energía, el cuerpo energético no tiene ningún problema en usar corrientes de energía que existen en el universo para propulsarse a sí mismo. Todo lo que tiene que hacer es aislarlas y al instante se lo llevan."
3.
"¿Cree usted que yo puedo regresar a esa misma ciudad algún día?
- Ahora si me agarraste, no lo sé, o quizás sí lo sé, pero no puedo explicarlo, o quizá lo puedo explicar pero no quiero hacerlo, vas a tener que esperar y deducir por ti mismo cuál es el caso."
4.
"Para los brujos, el tener vida, quiere decir tener conciencia de ser, quiere decir tener un punto de encaje con su resplandor de conciencia. Esta es una condición indicadora para los brujos de que el ser que los enfrenta, ya sea orgánico, o inorgánico, es totalmente capaz de percibir."
5.
"¿En qué consiste una amistad de esa índole Don Juán?
- Consiste en un intercambio mutuo de energía. Los seres inorgánicos proporcionan su consciencia superior y los brujos, proporcionan su gran energía, el resultado positivo es un intercambio parejo de energía el negativo es una dependencia de las dos partes."
6.
"- Cada uno está allí frente a ese inconcebible desconocido dijo, señalando a su alrededor.
- Uno no se sale con mentiras pinches, esas mentiras son para la gente que no sabe lo que está ya esperándonos.
¿Qué es lo que nos está esperando Don Juan? Su respuesta, al parecer una frase inofensiva, se me hizo más atemorizante que una descripción de algo horrendo.
- Lo enteramente impersonal, dijo."
7.
"Don Juan cambió de tema y pasó a explicarme a mayor detalle la fijación del punto de encaje.
Dijo que al ver el punto de encaje de los niños oscilando constantemente y cambiando fácilmente del lugar como movido por un temblor, los brujos antiguos llegaron a la conclusión de que su posición habitual no es innata sino, creada por los hábitos. Viendo también que es solamente en los adultos que éste se fija en un lugar definido, supusieron que la ubicación específica del punto de encaje promueve una manera específica de percibir. A consecuencia del uso, esta manera específica de percibir, se convierte en un sistema para la interpretación de datos sensoriales. Don Juan señaló que para existir dicho sistema precisa de una leva general. Todos nosotros, los seres humanos, al nacer, somos reclutados en él y nos pasamos una vida entera ajustando imperiosamente nuestra percepción para que concuerde con las demandas de este sistema, por ello, tenían razón los brujos antiguos al sostener que el acto de revocarlo y percibir energía directamente, es lo que transforma a una persona en brujo."
8.
"Don Juan expresó su admiración, una y otra vez, por lo que llamó el mayor logro de nuestra socialización básica como seres humanos, inmovilizar nuestro punto de encaje en su posición habitual. Explicó que una vez que su posición es fija nuestra percepción puede ser entrenada y dirigida a interpretar lo que percibimos. Nuestro proceso de socialización empieza entonces a guiarnos a percibir más en términos de nuestro sistema que en términos de nuestros sentidos. Don Juan aseguraba que la percepción humana es universalmente homogénea debido a que el punto de encaje de toda la raza humana está fijo en el mismo sitio. Don Juan dijo que los brujos prueban todo esto al comprobar que lo que se percibe no tiene sentido alguno cuando el punto de encaje se ha desplazado fuera de cierto nivel y nuevos filamentos energéticos universales empiezan a ser percibidos. La razón de ello es que los nuevos filamentos traen nuevos datos sensoriales que no son parte de dicho sistema. Percibir si nuestro sistema es, por supuesto, algo caótico, Don Juan continuo, pero, por más extraño que parezca cuando nos creemos realmente perdidos nuestro sistema se recupera y viene a nuestro rescate, transformando nuestra nueva e incomprensible percepción en un mundo totalmente comprensible."
9.
"Nos encontramos otra vez en el mismo atascadero de antes ¿existe realmente ese mundo o es una mera de elaboración de mi mente?
- Ciertamente regresamos a lo mismo, y la respuesta es aún la misma. Ese mundo realmente existe en la precisa posición en que se encontraba tu punto de encaje en ese momento. Para percibirlo claramente necesitas de cohesión, necesitas de mantener tu punto de encaje fijo en esa nueva posición, lo cual hiciste, el resultado fue que por un rato fuiste capaz de percibir un mundo totalmente nuevo
Pero podrían otros percibir ese mismo mundo?
- Sí, si tuvieron la uniformidad y cohesión que tenías tu en ese momento."
10.
"Explicó que si el punto de encaje no se logra estabilizar, no hay forma posible de que podamos percibir coherentemente. Lo que entonces percibiríamos sería un caleidoscopio de imágenes disociadas."
NOTA: Esto SÉ qué es exactamente.
11.
"La sensación de tener poder y ser único es invencible como fuerza de corrupción."
NOTA:
Funciona muy bien pero desde hace mucho lo veo como un juguete para niños muy pequeños aunque, repito, funciona hasta para el anciano que tiene contadas sus horas. Es más, no importa que no tengas ni poder ni seas único, ese ego, es poderoso sobre nuestras acciones. Pues, entre sus tantas funciones, diferencia fácil pero un tanto (o mucho) ilusoriamente los que "es" de lo que "no es", lo que "quiero" de lo que "no quiero" y de ahí puede tomar control de -su ser- (lugar donde va a habitar) uno podría ser Stalin, Mahoma o Jesús, es fácil apreciar diferencias entre estos tres "por sus frutos los reconoceréis" (resultado del fractal que predicaron y actuaron).
12.
Todo el capítulo 7, todo esta bueno, menos lo del “explorador azul”.
13.
"Olvídense de sí mismos y no le temerán a nada."
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!
Las cosas chamánicas-nahualeras de los libros de Castaneda enseñan mucho, aquí, el punto que no me atrae mucho literariamente, o de cualquier otra forma, es Castaneda mismo.
Bueno, buena lectura, me hace recordar cosas soooooooo weird... a tal grado que no puedo ni ponerlas en letra. Tal vez, algún día llegue de nuevo a las plantas de mis pies, o tal vez no, sólo quisiera saber qué pasó, en dónde estoy y en qué momento vivo, aunque sé que eso es imposible porque creo que no depende de mi.
Hablando de esto, del momento... es increíble como el infinito de posibilidades totales (y mucho más allá…) para nosotros, con todos nuestros momentos, vividos y por vivir, momentos "controlados", "ordenados", con "sentido" o sin el, vividos por "nosotros", o no... están metidos e “impresos” en el tiempo (lo cual hace que todo, a nuestra percepción, sea emergente), individual o colectivo, desde antes que la materia fuera consciente y, en fin... todos los potenciales del universo entero… uffffffffff… me salte un muchísimas de ideas aburridamente redundantes pero es... justo esto, eso es lo raro que me vuela la cabeza si pienso en ello... ... ... para nosotros, tooooodo eso, sólo puede habitar (incluidos a “nosotros” mismos) ahí, en eso... El Momento y… … … ¡y ya se fue! De verdad, ¿qué carajos es eso, El Momento, donde todo "se contiene" ¿Es lo único que podemos ser o aspirar a ser? ¿percibirlo completamente y de donde emerge?, es lo que, de verdad, aparte de la creación, ¿nos han regalado los dioses (universo) pues es intrínseco a nuestra naturaleza, donado, emergente? ¿Existe?
Sin esto, El Momento, ¿habría realidad para nosotros, nuestra realidad? Podría ser que El Momento sea una ilusión, consecuencia natural de nuestra -naturaleza emergente perceptiva- (evolución biológica), la cual por estar, por -principios creadores de órdenes originales y últimos-, dentro de la flecha del tiempo, que tenemos que habitar y habitarlo forzosamente, pero... por eso mismo, si me pongo a pensar pausadamente, como mencioné hace rato, tal vez el momento ni existe (sólo existe para los que lo pueden percibir) y esa sí que sería... no sé qué sería pero ¡qué miedo!
¿Por qué no podemos habitar dos momentos al mismo tiempo pero sí que tenemos a la mano un potencial infinito (incomprensible e inaccesible en su mayoría) para que este sea…? ¿Cómo funciona esto? El momento, más el aparato sensorial evolutivo biológico que hemos heredado, cerebro, conciencia, planeta, ecosistemas, espaciotiempo, redes de todo tipo y universo… ¿es todo como un fractal anidado, con sentido en cada nivel, justificado por las cosas que habitan en cada nivel, de la misma Conciencia Total (si se le quiere llamar Dios, adelante, me da igual) de la cual venimos y sólo se manifiesta para nosotros en cada Momento? ¿Qué. Es. Eso?
En serio, un momento animado por el poder del Universo, dura infinitamente menos que un parpadeo… crear un momento sería igual de "caro" que volver a hacer todo un Universo completo (con sus multiversos) todo en operación perfecta (a nuestra percepción) para que ese momento se mantenga y sea perceptible y habite, en lo que sea que esto mismo "habite" en su estabilidad y nosotros seamos en El… ... ... ... ... hummmm a lo cual regreso… ¿qué es El Momento? o, más fácil pero igualmente incomprensible: ¿qué es el momento para nosotros? ¿Agradecemos lo suficiente, si eso es lo que se debe de hacer, por cada momento? O… “se nos dió el reino” y nunca sabremos amar nada más allá de "nosotros" o nuestra individualidad negando que, de verdad se necesita un universo entero, perfecto en Amor hacia nuestra Creación pasada-presente-futura, para poder habitar cada momento por quienes lo tengan que habitar (preferentemente en Amor). Pareciera que TODO tiende a querer habitar El Momento y permanecer ahí el mayor tiempo posible, como decía antes, en Amor porque no hay otra opción... en sus últimas consecuencias o análisis final. O ¿es el sesgo cognitivo de nuestra propia naturaleza pues, ni existe, o sólo lo hace falsamente para nosotros?
Esta canción me sirve cuando pienso en esto.
Bueno... ¿a seguir haciendo lo que hemos hecho siempre? construir torres de Babel y llorar porque "nos las tiran", hahahahaha, sin darnos cuenta que la creación perfecta somos aquellos que habitamos dicho Momento. Pero ¡hey! hay ruinas de las cuales aprender supongo.
RANDOM 1
La conciencia ¿es más rara que el momento o al revés?
RANDOM 2
Estoy mal citando este chiste o comentario astuto pero es cierto, va algo así: “Deja grandes cantidades de hidrógeno en un universo, súmale billones de años y, de repente… el hidrógeno, se va a empezar a contemplar a sí mismo”.
RANDOM 3
No tiene nada que ver con nada de este “review” pero el アニメ de バケモ���の子 pone un buen ejemplo de Amor… y de… según yo, cómo es que trabajan el hemisferio izquierdo y derecho de nuestro cerebro al interactuar para resolver (con nuestras capacidades) cosas sustanciales en el universo ajustadas nuestro nivel de existencia y percepción.
Citas:
1.
"En el universo de la energía existen únicamente individuos solos rodeados por el infinito."
NOTA: Esto, mientras se vive, no sé por qué se ve de reojo. También, esta de la chin**da tenerlo presente. Si se trasciende, somos el infinito y el infinito esta haciendo un expresión de el mismo lo cual realmente es uno mismo y también esta "la sombra" de lo que llamamos uno mismo para nosotros mismos, un individuo finito proveniente del infinito.
2.
"Puesto que su esfera es la energía, el cuerpo energético no tiene ningún problema en usar corrientes de energía que existen en el universo para propulsarse a sí mismo. Todo lo que tiene que hacer es aislarlas y al instante se lo llevan."
3.
"¿Cree usted que yo puedo regresar a esa misma ciudad algún día?
- Ahora si me agarraste, no lo sé, o quizás sí lo sé, pero no puedo explicarlo, o quizá lo puedo explicar pero no quiero hacerlo, vas a tener que esperar y deducir por ti mismo cuál es el caso."
4.
"Para los brujos, el tener vida, quiere decir tener conciencia de ser, quiere decir tener un punto de encaje con su resplandor de conciencia. Esta es una condición indicadora para los brujos de que el ser que los enfrenta, ya sea orgánico, o inorgánico, es totalmente capaz de percibir."
5.
"¿En qué consiste una amistad de esa índole Don Juán?
- Consiste en un intercambio mutuo de energía. Los seres inorgánicos proporcionan su consciencia superior y los brujos, proporcionan su gran energía, el resultado positivo es un intercambio parejo de energía el negativo es una dependencia de las dos partes."
6.
"- Cada uno está allí frente a ese inconcebible desconocido dijo, señalando a su alrededor.
- Uno no se sale con mentiras pinches, esas mentiras son para la gente que no sabe lo que está ya esperándonos.
¿Qué es lo que nos está esperando Don Juan? Su respuesta, al parecer una frase inofensiva, se me hizo más atemorizante que una descripción de algo horrendo.
- Lo enteramente impersonal, dijo."
7.
"Don Juan cambió de tema y pasó a explicarme a mayor detalle la fijación del punto de encaje.
Dijo que al ver el punto de encaje de los niños oscilando constantemente y cambiando fácilmente del lugar como movido por un temblor, los brujos antiguos llegaron a la conclusión de que su posición habitual no es innata sino, creada por los hábitos. Viendo también que es solamente en los adultos que éste se fija en un lugar definido, supusieron que la ubicación específica del punto de encaje promueve una manera específica de percibir. A consecuencia del uso, esta manera específica de percibir, se convierte en un sistema para la interpretación de datos sensoriales. Don Juan señaló que para existir dicho sistema precisa de una leva general. Todos nosotros, los seres humanos, al nacer, somos reclutados en él y nos pasamos una vida entera ajustando imperiosamente nuestra percepción para que concuerde con las demandas de este sistema, por ello, tenían razón los brujos antiguos al sostener que el acto de revocarlo y percibir energía directamente, es lo que transforma a una persona en brujo."
8.
"Don Juan expresó su admiración, una y otra vez, por lo que llamó el mayor logro de nuestra socialización básica como seres humanos, inmovilizar nuestro punto de encaje en su posición habitual. Explicó que una vez que su posición es fija nuestra percepción puede ser entrenada y dirigida a interpretar lo que percibimos. Nuestro proceso de socialización empieza entonces a guiarnos a percibir más en términos de nuestro sistema que en términos de nuestros sentidos. Don Juan aseguraba que la percepción humana es universalmente homogénea debido a que el punto de encaje de toda la raza humana está fijo en el mismo sitio. Don Juan dijo que los brujos prueban todo esto al comprobar que lo que se percibe no tiene sentido alguno cuando el punto de encaje se ha desplazado fuera de cierto nivel y nuevos filamentos energéticos universales empiezan a ser percibidos. La razón de ello es que los nuevos filamentos traen nuevos datos sensoriales que no son parte de dicho sistema. Percibir si nuestro sistema es, por supuesto, algo caótico, Don Juan continuo, pero, por más extraño que parezca cuando nos creemos realmente perdidos nuestro sistema se recupera y viene a nuestro rescate, transformando nuestra nueva e incomprensible percepción en un mundo totalmente comprensible."
9.
"Nos encontramos otra vez en el mismo atascadero de antes ¿existe realmente ese mundo o es una mera de elaboración de mi mente?
- Ciertamente regresamos a lo mismo, y la respuesta es aún la misma. Ese mundo realmente existe en la precisa posición en que se encontraba tu punto de encaje en ese momento. Para percibirlo claramente necesitas de cohesión, necesitas de mantener tu punto de encaje fijo en esa nueva posición, lo cual hiciste, el resultado fue que por un rato fuiste capaz de percibir un mundo totalmente nuevo
Pero podrían otros percibir ese mismo mundo?
- Sí, si tuvieron la uniformidad y cohesión que tenías tu en ese momento."
10.
"Explicó que si el punto de encaje no se logra estabilizar, no hay forma posible de que podamos percibir coherentemente. Lo que entonces percibiríamos sería un caleidoscopio de imágenes disociadas."
NOTA: Esto SÉ qué es exactamente.
11.
"La sensación de tener poder y ser único es invencible como fuerza de corrupción."
NOTA:
Funciona muy bien pero desde hace mucho lo veo como un juguete para niños muy pequeños aunque, repito, funciona hasta para el anciano que tiene contadas sus horas. Es más, no importa que no tengas ni poder ni seas único, ese ego, es poderoso sobre nuestras acciones. Pues, entre sus tantas funciones, diferencia fácil pero un tanto (o mucho) ilusoriamente los que "es" de lo que "no es", lo que "quiero" de lo que "no quiero" y de ahí puede tomar control de -su ser- (lugar donde va a habitar) uno podría ser Stalin, Mahoma o Jesús, es fácil apreciar diferencias entre estos tres "por sus frutos los reconoceréis" (resultado del fractal que predicaron y actuaron).
12.
Todo el capítulo 7, todo esta bueno, menos lo del “explorador azul”.
13.
"Olvídense de sí mismos y no le temerán a nada."
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!
December 6, 2012
This is one of the seminal works of anthropologist and researched on shamanic lore, Carlos Castaneda. If it doesn't knock some sense into you, the dreams you can see, will. If you can't read this, please first understand that you're missing the point of reading, which is partly vicarious experience. If you can't prepare in book form, you're going to have to go the hard way. And nobody really should go the hard way down that dream corridor. You'll love this book if you think that there is more to dreams than mere psychology, that science can include this topic far beyond what is considered the survey of biological life that is hard science, that people can learn in dreams things that are secreted away from them, but that they can recover in later life.
May 29, 2011
This is a fascinating book in a series of several books by Carlos Casteneda about his training from Don Juan, a Yaqui native American sorcerer. I read it once before, several years ago, and it is even better on second reading. Some critics have claimed that Casteneda made all of this up -- if so, it is still a remarkable story. This book covers Carlos' mastery of lucid dreaming and the other worlds that are accessible through dreaming.
August 7, 2018
Not as good as the first time I read it 45 years ago , but brought back psychedelic memories .
April 5, 2018
It's fascinating. Is perception reality? Is magick simply madness? Is there a point in space, time or perception we can access that allows us not only to change our own reality but that of other people?
The sceptic in me wanted to dismiss it as nonsense and my spiritual side wanted to full embrace everything and try to replicate the dreaming. In the end I just filed it away for future use, however, it made me wonder whether his description of the assemblage point and how shifts in it alter the way we perceive our surroundings might have any practical application for understanding why I and the majority of people (neurotypicals for want of a better word - I like to think of them as those who have been properly socialised to fit into the tiny space allowed to them in society) see the world around us very differently.
"This social base of perception is the physical certainty that the world is made of concrete objects. I call this a social base because a serious and fierce effort is put out by everybody to guide us to perceive the world the way we do."
"Our way of perceiving is a predator's way. There is another mode, the one I am familiarizing you with: the act of perceiving the essence of everything, energy itself, directly."
"What they saw that made them conclude that perception takes place on the assemblage point was first, that out of the millions of the universe's luminous energy filaments passing through the entire luminous ball, only a small number pass directly through the assemblage point, as should be expected since it is small in comparison with the whole.
"Next, they saw that a spherical extra glow, slightly bigger than the assemblage point, always surrounds it, greatly intensifying the luminosity of the filaments passing directly through that glow.
"Finally, they saw two things. One, that the assemblage points of human beings can dislodge themselves from the spot where they are usually located. And, two, that when the assemblage point is on its habitual position, perception and awareness seem to be normal, judging by the normal behavior of the subjects being observed. But when their assemblage points and surrounding glowing spheres are on a different position than the habitual one, their unusual behavior seems to be the proof that their awareness is different, that they are perceiving in an unfamiliar manner.
"The conclusion the old sorcerers drew from all this was that the greater the displacement of the assemblage point from its customary position, the more unusual the consequent behavior and, evidently, the consequent awareness and perception."
The sceptic in me wanted to dismiss it as nonsense and my spiritual side wanted to full embrace everything and try to replicate the dreaming. In the end I just filed it away for future use, however, it made me wonder whether his description of the assemblage point and how shifts in it alter the way we perceive our surroundings might have any practical application for understanding why I and the majority of people (neurotypicals for want of a better word - I like to think of them as those who have been properly socialised to fit into the tiny space allowed to them in society) see the world around us very differently.
"This social base of perception is the physical certainty that the world is made of concrete objects. I call this a social base because a serious and fierce effort is put out by everybody to guide us to perceive the world the way we do."
"Our way of perceiving is a predator's way. There is another mode, the one I am familiarizing you with: the act of perceiving the essence of everything, energy itself, directly."
"What they saw that made them conclude that perception takes place on the assemblage point was first, that out of the millions of the universe's luminous energy filaments passing through the entire luminous ball, only a small number pass directly through the assemblage point, as should be expected since it is small in comparison with the whole.
"Next, they saw that a spherical extra glow, slightly bigger than the assemblage point, always surrounds it, greatly intensifying the luminosity of the filaments passing directly through that glow.
"Finally, they saw two things. One, that the assemblage points of human beings can dislodge themselves from the spot where they are usually located. And, two, that when the assemblage point is on its habitual position, perception and awareness seem to be normal, judging by the normal behavior of the subjects being observed. But when their assemblage points and surrounding glowing spheres are on a different position than the habitual one, their unusual behavior seems to be the proof that their awareness is different, that they are perceiving in an unfamiliar manner.
"The conclusion the old sorcerers drew from all this was that the greater the displacement of the assemblage point from its customary position, the more unusual the consequent behavior and, evidently, the consequent awareness and perception."
February 14, 2025
This book is far-out, quite far, far-out. I read The Art of Dreaming as a continuation of my reading of R Crumb’s Dream Diary, where his references to the “inorganic beings” piqued my curiosity. I eventually decided to read the source material myself.
This effort was not one made purely out of curiosity but as a continuation of my personal dream practice. What I was hoping for was a guide to dreaming and what I got was that and a whole lot more.
You have to go into this book with an open mind, to suspend rational judgment and reasoning. This is quite a difficult task, for both the protagonist of the story and for the reader. The workings of dreams are anything and everything but effable, so imagine a book attempting to articulate the ephemeral; it’s a exactly like trying to remember or explain the profundity of a powerful dream to an unfortunate somebody willing to lend an ear.
That being said, I can’t say exactly that my dream practice has become more enthralled with exciting epiphanies or spiritual breakthroughs as a result of this book. In fact, over the course of my reading of The Art of Dreaming, my dreams have been much less vivid, less substantial, less revealing. This is frustrating because I’ve never been more adamant about staying on top of my practice (dream journal, research, etc…)
One thing I can say that I took away from this book, which has helped me to better understand just what dreams are, is that dreaming is serious business.
There is a price to pay for the power endowed within dreaming.
I recommend reading this if you’re into fantasy novels, megalomania, self-help reading, reincarnation, charging geological minerals in moonlight, yoga, or any other new-age woowooo hoopla.
This effort was not one made purely out of curiosity but as a continuation of my personal dream practice. What I was hoping for was a guide to dreaming and what I got was that and a whole lot more.
You have to go into this book with an open mind, to suspend rational judgment and reasoning. This is quite a difficult task, for both the protagonist of the story and for the reader. The workings of dreams are anything and everything but effable, so imagine a book attempting to articulate the ephemeral; it’s a exactly like trying to remember or explain the profundity of a powerful dream to an unfortunate somebody willing to lend an ear.
That being said, I can’t say exactly that my dream practice has become more enthralled with exciting epiphanies or spiritual breakthroughs as a result of this book. In fact, over the course of my reading of The Art of Dreaming, my dreams have been much less vivid, less substantial, less revealing. This is frustrating because I’ve never been more adamant about staying on top of my practice (dream journal, research, etc…)
One thing I can say that I took away from this book, which has helped me to better understand just what dreams are, is that dreaming is serious business.
There is a price to pay for the power endowed within dreaming.
I recommend reading this if you’re into fantasy novels, megalomania, self-help reading, reincarnation, charging geological minerals in moonlight, yoga, or any other new-age woowooo hoopla.
August 23, 2021
Castaneda, an anthropologist, surely is someone to learn about. This book is by no means on the level of Jung and his interpretations of dreams. Is more about "gates" of other dimensions that you can open through dreaming. Personally, I cannot deny that somewhere, something must exist in the realm of dream, we spent 1/3 of our life dreaming and we know very little about that part.
So consider this as an effort to bring something concrete, for a discussion, about dreaming. Are his techniques working? I don't know. Is the knowledge based on ancient teachings? Probably Uto-Aztecan.
Castaneda is more known for teaching the masses about psychedelic recipes that were used by native Americans. Many of those have caused deaths and they are more close to a cult practice than something serious. Castaneda with his books just gave the right "excuses" to those wanting to try a "trip". Surely the experience gave something to them but the dangers of those practises are real.
Only conclusion: Surely there is something very similar to Sufism in his teachings even if the 2 cultures are separated by 1000s miles.
So consider this as an effort to bring something concrete, for a discussion, about dreaming. Are his techniques working? I don't know. Is the knowledge based on ancient teachings? Probably Uto-Aztecan.
Castaneda is more known for teaching the masses about psychedelic recipes that were used by native Americans. Many of those have caused deaths and they are more close to a cult practice than something serious. Castaneda with his books just gave the right "excuses" to those wanting to try a "trip". Surely the experience gave something to them but the dangers of those practises are real.
Only conclusion: Surely there is something very similar to Sufism in his teachings even if the 2 cultures are separated by 1000s miles.
February 25, 2020
Sem palavras. Simplesmente uma das coisas mais fabulosas que já li. Completamente transcendental. Se pudesse, daria 6 estrelas. Um "must read" pra qualquer ocultista ou buscador espiritual sério.
A escrita romanceada do autor embala muito a leitura. O conteúdo é profundamente interessante do início ao fim.
A escrita romanceada do autor embala muito a leitura. O conteúdo é profundamente interessante do início ao fim.
July 29, 2025
Psychedelic and enthralling journey through the numerous layers of reality, where everyday life and oniric state intertwine and even get mixed up. Although well written, female characters, such as Nagual Carol Tiggs are overly sexualised and thus presented mostly in relationship to the main character - Castañeda himself. Therefore, their vast power as witches ends up being often overshadowed by their beauty, a characteristic for which Tiggs is known in the book.
December 6, 2019
actually, I can't find much more of this book but it's so so interesting for me. I think in one hand his story, is correct, and eligible but.. on the other hand it's like a fiction book. I don't know maybe behand of our limitations, witches can try new words.lucky them, I jealous of them anyway
November 10, 2017
هنر رويا بيني بسيار عجيب بود. اين كتاب و آموزه هاي ناوال شباهت بسيار زيادي به آموزه هاي دين اسلام داره
July 8, 2018
2.5 estrellas.
Es el primer libro que leo de este autor. No quedé maravillada sino algo confundida, tiene buena redacción pero en sí la historia es bastante abrumadora.
Es el primer libro que leo de este autor. No quedé maravillada sino algo confundida, tiene buena redacción pero en sí la historia es bastante abrumadora.
February 14, 2024
Felt like it cut to the chase a lot faster than previous books in the series. Fun story and practical tips for achieving lucidity in our own dreams
October 11, 2017
My favorite Castaneda book. I now have a fantasy that I can use some of the techniques to sleep better, we'll see. At the very least this is an enjoyable read
January 24, 2021
very groovy stuff.
April 7, 2020
Finishing a Castañeda’s book always increases my thirst for more. He shows me how vast the universe of knowledge is and how much I still have to discover. The art of dreaming is a book I will re read to circulate more around the concepts he offers to us. The perception of reality and our consciousness have no limit, learning that from this magical perspective is a great gift for the mind.
June 18, 2011
At the time of its release this was a much discussed work on that most Freudian of worlds, the dreamscape. Castaneda wrote at length about 'active dreaming' to use another term. Probably still too esoteric and obscure for most readers or those without cause to delve into this type of work.
[ 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 journeys of learning (spelling of your choice for majic). Thus I finally put them down after a time. There's a new series of works by authors/students in the same genre. These are a continuation of the anthropological journey that Castaneda undertook to learn of his heritage and a way of life that existed if only in a shadow of the original form.
This generic commentary is going to be applied to all the writings of CC as a review until a rereading decision is made. I don't own all the books by Castaneda though I've read all his books through the mid 1980's. A couple more I have copies of in this collection but I bet I never read them.
Each of these books will have this introduction bracketed and italicized when I add a more specific commentary regarding the individual entry.
An early footnote. Much of the fascination with fantastical dragon imagery is rooted in the first two or three of these works. Just thought you should know. ]
[ 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 journeys of learning (spelling of your choice for majic). Thus I finally put them down after a time. There's a new series of works by authors/students in the same genre. These are a continuation of the anthropological journey that Castaneda undertook to learn of his heritage and a way of life that existed if only in a shadow of the original form.
This generic commentary is going to be applied to all the writings of CC as a review until a rereading decision is made. I don't own all the books by Castaneda though I've read all his books through the mid 1980's. A couple more I have copies of in this collection but I bet I never read them.
Each of these books will have this introduction bracketed and italicized when I add a more specific commentary regarding the individual entry.
An early footnote. Much of the fascination with fantastical dragon imagery is rooted in the first two or three of these works. Just thought you should know. ]
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