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The Teachings of Don Juan #6
The Eagle's Gift
Carlos Castaneda takes the reader into the very heart of sorcery, challenging both imagination and reason, shaking the very foundations of our belief in what is "natural" and "logical."
His landscape is full of terrors and mysterious forces, as sharply etched as a flash of lightning on the deserts and mountains where don Juan takes him to pursue the sorcerer’s knowledge—the knowledge that it is the Eagle that gives us, at our births, a spark of awareness, that it expects to reclaim at the end of our lives and which the sorcerer, through his discipline, fights to retain. Castaneda describes how don Juan and his party, left thisworld—"the warriors of don Juan’s party had caught me for an eternal instant, before they vanished into the total light, before the Eagle let them go through"—and how he, himself, upon witnessing such a sight, jumped into the abyss.
His landscape is full of terrors and mysterious forces, as sharply etched as a flash of lightning on the deserts and mountains where don Juan takes him to pursue the sorcerer’s knowledge—the knowledge that it is the Eagle that gives us, at our births, a spark of awareness, that it expects to reclaim at the end of our lives and which the sorcerer, through his discipline, fights to retain. Castaneda describes how don Juan and his party, left thisworld—"the warriors of don Juan’s party had caught me for an eternal instant, before they vanished into the total light, before the Eagle let them go through"—and how he, himself, upon witnessing such a sight, jumped into the abyss.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1981
145 people are currently reading
2388 people want to read
About the author
Carlos Castaneda
163 books2,612 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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Displaying 1 - 30 of 105 reviews
April 3, 2025
You know, our greatest victory is victory over ourselves.
In many respects this book was for me a huge disappointment in the early 1990s - the company of warriors has now departed from our ken.
And it precipitated my frustrated farewell to the Castaneda oeuvre.
Fed up with Yacqui warriers, I stirred the embers of my faith... More magical tales were now out of the question. I Needed concrete hope!
1994 was the beginning of my workplace burnout.
I had realised that dimly.
'Suddenly I'm not half the man I used to be.
There's a shadow hanging over me'. All I could believe in was my self-pity. A poor little self-crucified sorrow.
My reading became more random and disjointed. I was way too serious at work, never laughing.
My shrink noticed and gifted me with the story of a gifted talking chimp who offers advice for our ailing humanity - which I may someday review.
Anyway, he was right.
I had to blend my voice against those of the naysayers: for he knew I was a Yay Sayer. I had to disable my dissing and myself see a New Day.
Only by hope is the Eagle rebuffed! The eagle, you see, eats our very innards while we mope. We love our little sorrows too much.
Oh, it's still a real temptation. I still don't tie up my reviews with a Bright Bow! My temptation is always to tie 'em up with a bramble.
But naysayers are now everywhere. The eagle is waiting for us to to Grow up Absurd in a Superabsurd world! Our final answer must be NO.
We must say Yes to the Real outside world or die.
No, my shrink was right...
Ask not what the world can do for you.
Ask what YOU can do to make the world better!
Soon after that, my attitude changed for good.
The fight with my own omniverous Eagle had ended in pyhrric victory.
All was quiet.
The good guys had won:
At the point where Prometheus' liver is now totally digested -
And all his chains are finally removed.
In many respects this book was for me a huge disappointment in the early 1990s - the company of warriors has now departed from our ken.
And it precipitated my frustrated farewell to the Castaneda oeuvre.
Fed up with Yacqui warriers, I stirred the embers of my faith... More magical tales were now out of the question. I Needed concrete hope!
1994 was the beginning of my workplace burnout.
I had realised that dimly.
'Suddenly I'm not half the man I used to be.
There's a shadow hanging over me'. All I could believe in was my self-pity. A poor little self-crucified sorrow.
My reading became more random and disjointed. I was way too serious at work, never laughing.
My shrink noticed and gifted me with the story of a gifted talking chimp who offers advice for our ailing humanity - which I may someday review.
Anyway, he was right.
I had to blend my voice against those of the naysayers: for he knew I was a Yay Sayer. I had to disable my dissing and myself see a New Day.
Only by hope is the Eagle rebuffed! The eagle, you see, eats our very innards while we mope. We love our little sorrows too much.
Oh, it's still a real temptation. I still don't tie up my reviews with a Bright Bow! My temptation is always to tie 'em up with a bramble.
But naysayers are now everywhere. The eagle is waiting for us to to Grow up Absurd in a Superabsurd world! Our final answer must be NO.
We must say Yes to the Real outside world or die.
No, my shrink was right...
Ask not what the world can do for you.
Ask what YOU can do to make the world better!
Soon after that, my attitude changed for good.
The fight with my own omniverous Eagle had ended in pyhrric victory.
All was quiet.
The good guys had won:
At the point where Prometheus' liver is now totally digested -
And all his chains are finally removed.
July 29, 2012
Another great one in an uneven series. This is the first one where Castaneda introduces the concept of the Eagle, which seems like a theistic God concept. Everything, all creation, life organic and inorganic matter emanates from the Eagle. So this book introduces that concept in his form of Shamanism. Don Juan is back in this volume. There are times throughout the series where Don Juan's concepts are kind of dry, pedantic and lacking creative magic. At other times they are magical and deeply interesting concepts that can be personalized and valuable to the reader for their own self-reflection in their daily life. This book falls in to the more interesting category. A great balance in a Castaneda book involves events happening that are magic, wonderful, surreal AND interesting teaching of the philosophical/ belief system of the warrior/sorcerer. This one hits that balance
August 23, 2023
If you want to read a good book by Carlos Casteneda, I suggest you begin with the Teachings of Don Juan, his first; A separate reality, his second. Or Tales of Power, his fourth. But better start at nr 1 and work your way through. Castaneda changes his terminology and imagery with every book, drawing on new sources and adding new interpretations. An excellent analysis of his shapeshifting ideas and their partly native American origins can be found here: https://digilib.phil.muni.cz/bitstrea...
This is the 6th book of Castaneda, following the "Second ring of Power". The doubling up of identities, sorcerers, characters and states of awareness is taken to a whole new level in this book, resulting in a flurry of badly defined characters and events. I found it pretty hard to read through. As a story, it's much worse written than "Tales of power", one of his best. So, what's it all about? It turns out that during the whole course of years of Don Juan's teachings that are described in book 1 to 4 (which are told to have taken place mostly in the '60s), that was only half of the time that Castaneda spent with Don Juan and his fellow wizards. That all took place in "right side awareness" or everyday awareness. But apparently, Don Juan would regularly tap Casteneda on the back and thereby shift Castaneda to "left side awareness" or "heightened awareness", of which he would have zero recollection later, never noticing the huge intervals of lost time. Only now, ten to twenty years later, he remembers all this. It turns out that during his time in "left side awareness" he received much more explicit and revealing teachings from Don Juan and many other warriors, already starting on his very first visit to Don Juans house in 1960. And only in this book, published in 1981, he suddenly remembers all this.
So: during that time in "left side awareness" he got acquainted with a huge extended family of wizards or warriors, (1) a whole group of men and women formed around the Nagual Don Juan, (2) a new group of men and women formed around Castaneda who is chosen as the new Nagual, (these people are first introduced in book 5, "Second ring of power", but now it turns out he already knew them for ages, just forgot about it), and (3) a departed group of men and women formed around Don Juan's former teacher. The book makes the point that there is a succession of naguals, where in every new generation of nagual needs to form his own little cult of warriors. Why? Because it's the rule of the Eagle. The Eagle is now what all the warrior's work is about: a kind of Death God, apparently inspired by Moloch Baal or Kronos, who eats the souls (consciousness) of all people when they die. And apparently the purpose in life of warriors such as Don Juan is to invest years and years of their life to create a double of themselves, a full recollection of their life, to offer to the eagle, so that they may not be devoured by the Eagle themselves - and live forever in the afterlife. For this purpose, they must perform years and years of repetitive exercises: sitting in wooden crates trying to relive all their life up to that point, swinging from the ceiling suspended in leather straps ("non-doing"), staring at heaps of leaves for months on end ("gazing"), etc. For example, one character, Dona Soledad, is said to have spent 5 years sitting in a wooden create, remembering her life up to then, in order to secure a safe pass by the Eagle. Yes, five years in a wooden create, in order to be better off in the afterlife. That beats any conception of Christian martyrdom and in itself is more than enough to put me off from taking anything literal that Castañeda comes up with.
I would say that this whole obsession with forming your own cult reflects perfectly what Juan Castaneda was doing in his real life, in the late '70s (almost 20 years after meeting Don Juan). Sounds almost like he developed an interest in SM, looking at all the locking up in cages and pointless swinging from leather contraptions from the ceiling for hours and hours, days and days, years and years. The swinging from leather contraptions is adequately called "not-doing", a notion vaguely copied from the Taoist concept of non-ado. And its purpose remains totally vague - in a later book Castaneda defines the purpose of "non-doing" as breaking through the conventional run of events, to shift the awareness and reveal life's intentions.
There's nevertheless quite a bit of interesting new detail on the art of Dreaming (basically, getting control of your dreams to the point where you can perform actual miracles in daily life, like flying) and the art of Stalking (basically, getting control of people and events in daily life, manipulation and stealth techniques, to accomplish your goals in the magic world of the Eagle). If you still buy it.
Oh, yeah: we are also supposed to believe now that all the knowledge of Castaneda comes from the Tolteks, who lived in Mexico from the 10th to 12th century A.D. It took him 6 books and 20 years since the beginning of his apprenticeship with Don Juan to "remember" that.
Concluding, i.m.o. Casteneda takes the trickery to a whole new level in this book. It's a big question for me which parts of his practical teaching about Dreaming, Stalking, etc would really pay off any of the effort described. Some of it might. But there's just way too much discrepancy between the first books and the latter books. I see no foundation for credibility either in Casteneda's life or the accomplishments of his pupils. The characters, the theories, the practices, they keep changing with every new book. Castaneda makes it all up on the fly, picking up ideas and discarding them as best suits his literary and personal goals.
This is the 6th book of Castaneda, following the "Second ring of Power". The doubling up of identities, sorcerers, characters and states of awareness is taken to a whole new level in this book, resulting in a flurry of badly defined characters and events. I found it pretty hard to read through. As a story, it's much worse written than "Tales of power", one of his best. So, what's it all about? It turns out that during the whole course of years of Don Juan's teachings that are described in book 1 to 4 (which are told to have taken place mostly in the '60s), that was only half of the time that Castaneda spent with Don Juan and his fellow wizards. That all took place in "right side awareness" or everyday awareness. But apparently, Don Juan would regularly tap Casteneda on the back and thereby shift Castaneda to "left side awareness" or "heightened awareness", of which he would have zero recollection later, never noticing the huge intervals of lost time. Only now, ten to twenty years later, he remembers all this. It turns out that during his time in "left side awareness" he received much more explicit and revealing teachings from Don Juan and many other warriors, already starting on his very first visit to Don Juans house in 1960. And only in this book, published in 1981, he suddenly remembers all this.
So: during that time in "left side awareness" he got acquainted with a huge extended family of wizards or warriors, (1) a whole group of men and women formed around the Nagual Don Juan, (2) a new group of men and women formed around Castaneda who is chosen as the new Nagual, (these people are first introduced in book 5, "Second ring of power", but now it turns out he already knew them for ages, just forgot about it), and (3) a departed group of men and women formed around Don Juan's former teacher. The book makes the point that there is a succession of naguals, where in every new generation of nagual needs to form his own little cult of warriors. Why? Because it's the rule of the Eagle. The Eagle is now what all the warrior's work is about: a kind of Death God, apparently inspired by Moloch Baal or Kronos, who eats the souls (consciousness) of all people when they die. And apparently the purpose in life of warriors such as Don Juan is to invest years and years of their life to create a double of themselves, a full recollection of their life, to offer to the eagle, so that they may not be devoured by the Eagle themselves - and live forever in the afterlife. For this purpose, they must perform years and years of repetitive exercises: sitting in wooden crates trying to relive all their life up to that point, swinging from the ceiling suspended in leather straps ("non-doing"), staring at heaps of leaves for months on end ("gazing"), etc. For example, one character, Dona Soledad, is said to have spent 5 years sitting in a wooden create, remembering her life up to then, in order to secure a safe pass by the Eagle. Yes, five years in a wooden create, in order to be better off in the afterlife. That beats any conception of Christian martyrdom and in itself is more than enough to put me off from taking anything literal that Castañeda comes up with.
I would say that this whole obsession with forming your own cult reflects perfectly what Juan Castaneda was doing in his real life, in the late '70s (almost 20 years after meeting Don Juan). Sounds almost like he developed an interest in SM, looking at all the locking up in cages and pointless swinging from leather contraptions from the ceiling for hours and hours, days and days, years and years. The swinging from leather contraptions is adequately called "not-doing", a notion vaguely copied from the Taoist concept of non-ado. And its purpose remains totally vague - in a later book Castaneda defines the purpose of "non-doing" as breaking through the conventional run of events, to shift the awareness and reveal life's intentions.
There's nevertheless quite a bit of interesting new detail on the art of Dreaming (basically, getting control of your dreams to the point where you can perform actual miracles in daily life, like flying) and the art of Stalking (basically, getting control of people and events in daily life, manipulation and stealth techniques, to accomplish your goals in the magic world of the Eagle). If you still buy it.
Oh, yeah: we are also supposed to believe now that all the knowledge of Castaneda comes from the Tolteks, who lived in Mexico from the 10th to 12th century A.D. It took him 6 books and 20 years since the beginning of his apprenticeship with Don Juan to "remember" that.
Concluding, i.m.o. Casteneda takes the trickery to a whole new level in this book. It's a big question for me which parts of his practical teaching about Dreaming, Stalking, etc would really pay off any of the effort described. Some of it might. But there's just way too much discrepancy between the first books and the latter books. I see no foundation for credibility either in Casteneda's life or the accomplishments of his pupils. The characters, the theories, the practices, they keep changing with every new book. Castaneda makes it all up on the fly, picking up ideas and discarding them as best suits his literary and personal goals.
September 15, 2007
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. And having been a Wiccan Faery Witch now for 13 years I know much of what is real to us is fiction to those not walking a magickal path. These are life-changing books you will never forget, and their teachings still influence my life today. Can't get any better than that!
June 18, 2011
I particularly liked this one and remember it as having as much substance as any of these works of an ethereal nature.
[ 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. ]
October 27, 2011
the review is from my blog: http://artang.wordpress.com/2010/12/1...
finished the eagle’s gift by carlos castaneda. carlos’s books are very engaging, now that the book is finished i somehow miss it, i feel somewhat connected to his group, and i feel i know and like a few of them.
the book starts very mysteriously; unknown happenings, magical figures and spirits of the dead warriors connected with the chichen itzas and other power places. then it continues by unraveling these mysteries and connecting them back to the memories of carlos. and of course, throughout the book you are provided by different techniques and practices of warriors.
below are few quotes that i like from the book:
you can lead people to truth, but you can’t make them understand it
i am already given to the power that rules my fate,
and i cling to nothing, so i will have nothing to defend,
i have no thoughts, so i will see,
i fear nothing, so i will remember myself,
detached and at ease, i will dart past the eagle to be free
a warrior knows that he is waiting, and knows also what he is waiting for, and while he waits he feasts his eyes on the world
finished the eagle’s gift by carlos castaneda. carlos’s books are very engaging, now that the book is finished i somehow miss it, i feel somewhat connected to his group, and i feel i know and like a few of them.
the book starts very mysteriously; unknown happenings, magical figures and spirits of the dead warriors connected with the chichen itzas and other power places. then it continues by unraveling these mysteries and connecting them back to the memories of carlos. and of course, throughout the book you are provided by different techniques and practices of warriors.
below are few quotes that i like from the book:
you can lead people to truth, but you can’t make them understand it
i am already given to the power that rules my fate,
and i cling to nothing, so i will have nothing to defend,
i have no thoughts, so i will see,
i fear nothing, so i will remember myself,
detached and at ease, i will dart past the eagle to be free
a warrior knows that he is waiting, and knows also what he is waiting for, and while he waits he feasts his eyes on the world
April 23, 2008
This one is out of my league. For the advanced only. The path of heart, however, is still the only safe one. From Buddha and compassion, to Jesus and love, to Aurobindo and bakhti yoga, H. Rednick and the Way of the Beloved, the paths call for the same. Good journeying.
July 15, 2011
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 Don Juan's teachings.
March 7, 2014
Only the most faithful of Castandea's readers will get through this somewhat tedious book. I love his stuff but must admit that were times when the existential principals set forth had me wondering if i should bother to turn the page. You really only need his 1st 3 ot 4 books.....after that it becomes an exercise in drifting to and fro between fiction and non-fiction.
August 3, 2016
Having finally gone off the deep end, Castaneda is less convincing than ever here, and more boring.
Even with the introduction of more cartoonish bad guys, there's no entertainment here, and certainly no insight.
But at least there are blobby spirit energies blooping around.
Even with the introduction of more cartoonish bad guys, there's no entertainment here, and certainly no insight.
But at least there are blobby spirit energies blooping around.
September 18, 2019
Why are you just sitting there reading this review? Read Castaneda. Read the whole damn series.
May 23, 2023
Mesmerizing, filled with awe and occult. Not sure if the experiences are true, but who cares?! The story itself cast a spell on me.
May 9, 2024
In this installment, we discover that Carlos has literally forgotten half the time he spent with don Juan and everything he learned while he was in the “left side.” The first five books and the first half of this book are only what he learned while in his “right side”. The last half of the book is Castaneda trying to remember what he learned and who he met during all the time he spent in his “left” side. Considering Castaneda’s claim that he spent an equal amount of time in each side with don Juan, you would think it would take a lot more than a hundred or so pages to go through all of that. It seems off that in the many years (yes, years) of meticulously keeping his journals, Castaneda never noticed an unaccounted for time discrepancy? And apparently the same is true for all the characters in the last book, the Second Ring of Power. It seems you might occasionally notice that you are frequently missing a day, or two, or three here and there.
If you are planning on circumventing having your awareness being eaten by the Eagle when you die, it can apparently only be done as a group (four men and four women, a male nagual and a female nagual from the group to come if you are following “the rule”). It doesn’t look like any solo trips for us. Unfortunately for his own group, unlike Neo, it turns out Castaneda isn’t “The One” for his cohort of castaways. But then of course if he was, and he left, he wouldn’t have been able to write this book to tell us about all the things he’d completely forgotten during the past decade of his time with don Juan. Frankly, it gets a little tedious and a little boring as he goes through this storyline. The Eagle has granted a gift to all living things that, “In those beings’ own way, and by right, any one of them, if it so desires, has the power to keep the flame of awareness; the power to disobey the summons to ‘die and be consumed’.” Given the complexity of training and the need for a large group of individuals it doesn’t leave you or me with much hope of ever bypassing the Eagle. I wonder how an ant, ‘if it so desires’, might be able to disobey the summons? Food for thought. Oh snap, food for the Eagle!
If you are planning on circumventing having your awareness being eaten by the Eagle when you die, it can apparently only be done as a group (four men and four women, a male nagual and a female nagual from the group to come if you are following “the rule”). It doesn’t look like any solo trips for us. Unfortunately for his own group, unlike Neo, it turns out Castaneda isn’t “The One” for his cohort of castaways. But then of course if he was, and he left, he wouldn’t have been able to write this book to tell us about all the things he’d completely forgotten during the past decade of his time with don Juan. Frankly, it gets a little tedious and a little boring as he goes through this storyline. The Eagle has granted a gift to all living things that, “In those beings’ own way, and by right, any one of them, if it so desires, has the power to keep the flame of awareness; the power to disobey the summons to ‘die and be consumed’.” Given the complexity of training and the need for a large group of individuals it doesn’t leave you or me with much hope of ever bypassing the Eagle. I wonder how an ant, ‘if it so desires’, might be able to disobey the summons? Food for thought. Oh snap, food for the Eagle!
December 28, 2009
A lot happens in this book. Much of it stems from the emergence of memories suppressed in the warriors by the sorcerers. Much structure is revealed among the warriors and sorcerers, with details of different warrior types. The general tenor of discourse changes as well to relating details of events with enough information about inner states to maintain the narrative without their close examination. This change brings back the question as to whether all the events in the series actually happened or are part of a fiction.
September 21, 2012
It was a great time to read this book, right when my Magical Passes class is beginning. Casteneda hadn't mentioned Magical Passes, yet, when he wrote this book. Don Juan and all the warriors in his party are described as being in amazing physical shape even though they were all like 20 years or more older than Casteneda. I'm sure Magical Passes had something to do with that, but then being an "impeccable warrior" would include a lot of habits that would keep you in damn good shape. Physically and mentally, and spiritually.
August 19, 2009
Carlitos and La Gorda have regained their memories from their left attentions and can contextualize all of the teachings of Don Juan Matus and his party of warriors as they prepare to cross into the third attention and guide each other through the crack in the world. Very cool. I especially resonated with the seven tenets of stalking, and dreaming continues to interest me. If I could only find my damn hands
April 26, 2018
Although a low point for the series, this means it is only Excellent...a great story, but also applicable tips for both dealing with society
...and even beyond lucid dreaming. This is my second today through the series... And I wish that they offered Audible version for the whole series.
...and even beyond lucid dreaming. This is my second today through the series... And I wish that they offered Audible version for the whole series.
December 12, 2011
Overall I really liked it. There were parts that were difficult to get through. Perhaps I didn't understand the depth of the subject matter or perhaps it just wasn't my cup of tea. But overall, I really like Castaneda's work
February 23, 2018
Would highly recommend reading the previous Castaneda books to more easily follow this one. However if you’ve read the previous books this one seems a bit more tedious. I found my self jumping ahead a few pages at a time. None the less I enjoyed he journey of the book.
October 25, 2020
Not essential reading by any means, but a decent supplementary source of information if you're into this kind of thing. And by that I mean altered states, dreaming, unconscious/consciousness. This book, told as an autobiographical account by an anthropologist who is initiated into Toltec mysticism (the right word?), presents an interesting account of the subjective experience of the path, as well as some of the "objective" theory behind it. Know that the latter, of course, is told in the language of this author and his experiences so it may require some translation on your part if you are used to speaking of interiorities in different terms.
What I found the most valuable were certain concepts...for instance, one must penetrate a sulphurous wall of fog that moves as one turns one’s head, so that one can never face it head on without a certain amount of work.
What I found the most valuable were certain concepts...for instance, one must penetrate a sulphurous wall of fog that moves as one turns one’s head, so that one can never face it head on without a certain amount of work.
July 11, 2021
Masterpiece.
June 22, 2014
The Eagle's Gift is the last in a series of six books by Carlos Castaneda about the time hs spent learning from a Yaqui Indian shaman called Don Juan Matus. This book focuses (at least in the first part) on Mr. Castaneda's time with the other apprentices of Don Juan after Don Juan has left them. Even so, the progress of the narrative is not that linear and so Don Juan plays a large part of it in flashback. But somewhere around the middle of the book, the narrative seems to meld with the flashback and the thread follows the apprentices' time with Don Juan until his "departure."
No, this book is not a straightforward read, and there is a "weirdness" about it that will tend to put off readers who are materialistically minded and not used to metaphysical works. And this book is a metaphysical work. As such, parts of it seem bizarre and nonsensical. That is often the way with this kind of material and it takes some open-minded study to get beyond assertions that challenge the norm of our thinking. If you can do that, you will slowly find, as if in measured revelation, the truths wrapped up in the strange prose.
Mr. Castaneda acknowledged this in the book's prologue. The prose of this prologue is more "normal" and reveals Mr. Castaneda as an intelligent and literate man who began his acquaintance with this material as an anthropologist, seeking to study the Mexican Indians' belief system. It is in marked contrast with the rest of the book that Mr. Castaneda asserts is nonfiction and:
...is alien to us; therefore, it seems unreal.
The book begins with Mr. Castaneda's return to Mexico when he is seeking out the other apprentices of Don Juan that he had known before, but not intimately. His relation with them is tumultuous
even though they declare him to be their new teacher (Nagual), or spiritual leader, in the place of Don Juan. He does come around to accepting this role though with the acknowledgement that he himself still has far to go.
The apprentices argue and fight (sometimes physically), and go through times of fear and anguish as they constantly look for omens and meaning in the events that happen to them as they seek to follow the path shown to them by Don Juan. Later, they stop working together so much and split into smaller groups. Mr. Castaneda then works exclusively with a woman (Maria Elena whom he calls "la Gorda") who appears to share a special relationship with him, though (in the book at least) it is a spiritual partnership (but it seems to me that a physical relationship is implied). They progress in their work together and achieve a kind of breakthrough when they find they can dream together, which seems to be a kind of shared out-of-body experience.
From this point, the narrative includes a lot of Don Juan and it is unclear as to how much of it is flashback or whether they found Don Juan again. But the rest of the book describes the playing out of the mythology, or belief system, of the Indians (called "The Rule of the Nagual") among the apprentices. This section especially takes some study and I expect insight would come from the other Castaneda books.
I found The Eagle's Gift readable, though strange. At times the narrative was compelling and the characters sympathetic, though their actions were sometimes bizarre. But as I said, this is a metaphysical book meant to enlighten more than entertain. I found in it many concepts I had found in other works, though they are expressed in terms of the Indian mythology. These included the idea of an extra-dimensional universe(s) and humans as extra-dimensional beings, out-of-body experiences beginning as a separation of spirit from body accompanied by a buzzing or vibration, spiritual awareness achieved through deliberate and practiced concentration (mediation), telepathy, and the constitution of souls as potentially aware and "luminous" after death. For me, all this lends a credence to Mr. Castaneda's work.
Even so, there are some issues of terminology in this book that are not my preference. For instance, Mr. Castaneda never mentions shamanism but refers to what he and apprentices were studying as "sorcery." And among the apprentice sorcerers the designation for the spiritual seeker is "warrior." Of course, this may be a matter of cultural and lingual translation.
I consider The Eagle's Gift an important work for the metaphysically minded seeker, and I suspect a study of Mr. Castaneda's works would be enlightening when taken in consideration with that of other metaphysical authors. In that light, I recommend it.
No, this book is not a straightforward read, and there is a "weirdness" about it that will tend to put off readers who are materialistically minded and not used to metaphysical works. And this book is a metaphysical work. As such, parts of it seem bizarre and nonsensical. That is often the way with this kind of material and it takes some open-minded study to get beyond assertions that challenge the norm of our thinking. If you can do that, you will slowly find, as if in measured revelation, the truths wrapped up in the strange prose.
Mr. Castaneda acknowledged this in the book's prologue. The prose of this prologue is more "normal" and reveals Mr. Castaneda as an intelligent and literate man who began his acquaintance with this material as an anthropologist, seeking to study the Mexican Indians' belief system. It is in marked contrast with the rest of the book that Mr. Castaneda asserts is nonfiction and:
...is alien to us; therefore, it seems unreal.
The book begins with Mr. Castaneda's return to Mexico when he is seeking out the other apprentices of Don Juan that he had known before, but not intimately. His relation with them is tumultuous
even though they declare him to be their new teacher (Nagual), or spiritual leader, in the place of Don Juan. He does come around to accepting this role though with the acknowledgement that he himself still has far to go.
The apprentices argue and fight (sometimes physically), and go through times of fear and anguish as they constantly look for omens and meaning in the events that happen to them as they seek to follow the path shown to them by Don Juan. Later, they stop working together so much and split into smaller groups. Mr. Castaneda then works exclusively with a woman (Maria Elena whom he calls "la Gorda") who appears to share a special relationship with him, though (in the book at least) it is a spiritual partnership (but it seems to me that a physical relationship is implied). They progress in their work together and achieve a kind of breakthrough when they find they can dream together, which seems to be a kind of shared out-of-body experience.
From this point, the narrative includes a lot of Don Juan and it is unclear as to how much of it is flashback or whether they found Don Juan again. But the rest of the book describes the playing out of the mythology, or belief system, of the Indians (called "The Rule of the Nagual") among the apprentices. This section especially takes some study and I expect insight would come from the other Castaneda books.
I found The Eagle's Gift readable, though strange. At times the narrative was compelling and the characters sympathetic, though their actions were sometimes bizarre. But as I said, this is a metaphysical book meant to enlighten more than entertain. I found in it many concepts I had found in other works, though they are expressed in terms of the Indian mythology. These included the idea of an extra-dimensional universe(s) and humans as extra-dimensional beings, out-of-body experiences beginning as a separation of spirit from body accompanied by a buzzing or vibration, spiritual awareness achieved through deliberate and practiced concentration (mediation), telepathy, and the constitution of souls as potentially aware and "luminous" after death. For me, all this lends a credence to Mr. Castaneda's work.
Even so, there are some issues of terminology in this book that are not my preference. For instance, Mr. Castaneda never mentions shamanism but refers to what he and apprentices were studying as "sorcery." And among the apprentice sorcerers the designation for the spiritual seeker is "warrior." Of course, this may be a matter of cultural and lingual translation.
I consider The Eagle's Gift an important work for the metaphysically minded seeker, and I suspect a study of Mr. Castaneda's works would be enlightening when taken in consideration with that of other metaphysical authors. In that light, I recommend it.
February 6, 2015
A very interesting read but probably very confusing for someone who hasn't ever read the books of Carlos Castaneda. I'd read probably 6 of his other books before reading this one and I am not certain of the order in which his books were written but its extremely helpful in understanding the books to read some of the earlier ones before reading this. He talks a lot about these very abstract concepts and with each book he builds upon them. Its even hard to write about the stuff he's written but if you are looking for something thought provoking and intense, I'd suggest you read any of Castaneda's books.
August 4, 2013
What a great deception :(
Last week I was flying next to an eagle for some time despite the fact that I'm just an beginner paraglider. That was when I decided to start reading this book again, since I've stopped here years ago.
Than, after a short searching on net I've found BBC documentary about Castaneda.
I feel sadness and anger that I need so many years to find that a man don't need this kind of teacher to fly with eagles.
I know that is sounds banal, but can any of you say how is it to fly with eagles?
I can
Last week I was flying next to an eagle for some time despite the fact that I'm just an beginner paraglider. That was when I decided to start reading this book again, since I've stopped here years ago.
Than, after a short searching on net I've found BBC documentary about Castaneda.
I feel sadness and anger that I need so many years to find that a man don't need this kind of teacher to fly with eagles.
I know that is sounds banal, but can any of you say how is it to fly with eagles?
I can
November 5, 2013
All books of Carlos Castaneda are very important to me. He (and his Don Juan), Vadim Zeland - writer from Russia, quantum physicist and Alexey Bachev - an unusual psychologist from Bulgaria, protagonist of my book Life Can Be a Miracle have shaped my way of thinking, perceiving, experiencing the reality. Very grateful for showing me the miraculous way of living!!!!
March 1, 2014
This was he 6th of his books if I counted correctly. I am not going to make a full review until I have an opportunity to reread it. Like many others we went through a period where Castaneda affected our thinking and perhaps even our lives at some point in time. He made an important contribution to anthropology, mysticism, literature and spirituality.
January 31, 2016
Veramente molti anni sono trascorsi da quando il mio interesse per il peyote e una certa assurda spiritualità new age mi portò in contatto con questo volume, ma non ho scordato quanto pessimo fosse e ancora oggi non posso fare a meno di pensare a quanto malata mentalmente possa essere la gente per seguire certe idee.
June 30, 2008
The perfect accompaniment to my trip to mexico. The 6th book in this series, so no point in reading it if you haven't read the others, but lemme tell ya, it all comes together (finally) in this book.
Read
June 19, 2011Personally I have no concern with whether these books are fiction or non-fiction, I found them to be good friends. Some very enjoyable tricks learned in the choices I makes when interacting with my environment.
December 22, 2016
If it has one star I liked it a lot
If it has two stars I liked it a lot and would recommend it
If it has three stars I really really liked it a lot
If it has four stars I insist you read it
If it has five stars it was life changing
If it has two stars I liked it a lot and would recommend it
If it has three stars I really really liked it a lot
If it has four stars I insist you read it
If it has five stars it was life changing
Displaying 1 - 30 of 105 reviews