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The Teachings of Don Juan #12
The Active Side of Infinity
Subtitle: The Definitive and Revealing Overview of Carlos Castaneda's Experiences with Don Juan
Depending on whom you talk to, Carlos Castaneda is either one of the very greatest thinkers of the last century, or one of its most accomplished charlatans. Ever since The Teachings Of Don Juan, the author's "true story" of his encounter with a Yaqui Indian sorcerer who led him on a mesmerising, magical and highly disturbing journey into another world, Castenada has fascinated readers with his extraordinary narratives. Hovering tantalisingly between anthropology and fiction, they offer visions of spiritual universes, worlds within our own that are accessible to anyone bold enough to undertake the psychic and spiritual challenges necessary to reach them.
Depending on whom you talk to, Carlos Castaneda is either one of the very greatest thinkers of the last century, or one of its most accomplished charlatans. Ever since The Teachings Of Don Juan, the author's "true story" of his encounter with a Yaqui Indian sorcerer who led him on a mesmerising, magical and highly disturbing journey into another world, Castenada has fascinated readers with his extraordinary narratives. Hovering tantalisingly between anthropology and fiction, they offer visions of spiritual universes, worlds within our own that are accessible to anyone bold enough to undertake the psychic and spiritual challenges necessary to reach them.
Now, in his last book before he died, Castaneda offers this "collection of the memorable events in my life", at the suggestion, he says, of the shamanic teacher who started it all. This is no random memoir, says Castaneda, but itself a shamanic ritual--the "putting together [of] the sum total of one's emotions and realizations, without sparing anything", in preparation for "the definitive journey" into life after death, or what shamans call "the active side of infinity".
What we get is a kind of Castaneda reader or primer, a posthumous overview of the episodes that first brought him to our attention. As always both riveting and bewildering, Castaneda offers a behind-the-scenes gloss on the extraordinary events that inform his best-known books. It will surely have the effect of turning readers back to those first mind-bending volumes. --Dan Fielder
Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
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About the author
Carlos Castaneda
169 books2,640 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 125 reviews
January 16, 2016
Most of what is presented in one of Castaneda's later works, The Active Side of Infinity, had already been incorporated into earlier works like The Teachings of Don Juan or Journey to Ixtlan. What is different, despite the esoteric title, is that this work is not so much about sorcery or being a shaman, but rather a pointed search of one's memory for significant moments. This is how shamans prepare to make their final journey. If you have heard about Castaneda but haven't yet read the early stuff, I'd start there.
February 4, 2008
I clicked to review this book from the choices of writings by Casteneda, but really I'm "reviewing" all his books, especially the several early ones I read with great fear and fascination when they first came out. I never really got into the debate over whether they were "real" or not. To me, they were real enough. That is, the stories were hair-raising and frightening for what they were--writing designed to have you question your entire cultural existence.
I remember once when Carlos, the apprentice, noticed a turtle moving across a highway down in the Sonora Desert in Mexico, where much of these books took place, and he went to pick up the turtle to "save" him, and Don Juan de Matos, his guide and the guide in most of the books, suddenly admonished him: How do you know that that turtle hadn't spent the last hundreds of years of its existence just to reach this exact point in the crossroads, and here you are "saving" it when you really have no idea what you're doing!
Yes, the characters in his books seem to defy and defeat death, are able to mysteriously and in the spirit world "stalk" various enemies, there are truly devilish characters and mind-defying feats of ledgerdomain that make you doubt the very words you're reading...but also, given one's own ignorance, there's every chance that it is your world that is the messed up, mixed up, false one, and this crazy mystical impossible-to-grasp world presented in these books...that is the real one.
I remember once when Carlos, the apprentice, noticed a turtle moving across a highway down in the Sonora Desert in Mexico, where much of these books took place, and he went to pick up the turtle to "save" him, and Don Juan de Matos, his guide and the guide in most of the books, suddenly admonished him: How do you know that that turtle hadn't spent the last hundreds of years of its existence just to reach this exact point in the crossroads, and here you are "saving" it when you really have no idea what you're doing!
Yes, the characters in his books seem to defy and defeat death, are able to mysteriously and in the spirit world "stalk" various enemies, there are truly devilish characters and mind-defying feats of ledgerdomain that make you doubt the very words you're reading...but also, given one's own ignorance, there's every chance that it is your world that is the messed up, mixed up, false one, and this crazy mystical impossible-to-grasp world presented in these books...that is the real one.
January 2, 2008
what i find most incredible about Castaneda's works is that feedback from people mainly centers on if he even existed, if Don Juan is real, etc.
it's like finding a planet of starving people, offering them not only a tomato, but the seeds and teaching folk how to grow them.
then the starving masses examine the tomato like it's a grenade and wonder, 'but is it a fruit, or a vegetable?'
and prefer to starve rather than just eat the thing.
tis a puzzlement....as yul brynner said.
'so let it be written. so let it be done.'
it's like finding a planet of starving people, offering them not only a tomato, but the seeds and teaching folk how to grow them.
then the starving masses examine the tomato like it's a grenade and wonder, 'but is it a fruit, or a vegetable?'
and prefer to starve rather than just eat the thing.
tis a puzzlement....as yul brynner said.
'so let it be written. so let it be done.'
June 9, 2012
This book had an immediate effect on me. After he describes the process of collecting memorable events, the recapitulation, and perhaps the part about assessing to whom you are indebted, I woke up one morning with an event from high school in my mind. It had only taken 19 years, but I finally understood how this event that I had interpreted in a negative way at the time was actually this act of love that had surely saved me from grave harm. I had not been thinking about this event at all, it just popped out of nowhere. So that led me to start taking the book more seriously--that maybe there was some value in doing the exercises he describes doing in the book. I think I am actually going to have to reach out to the individuals involved and thank them.
Who is Carlos Castaneda
I wanted to not break the spell and just try to experience this book without knowing who this seemingly well-known but mysterious author was, so I resisted learning anything more about him until I was about three-quarters of the way through and I broke down and looked on Wikipedia. I kind of wish I hadn't because I didn't like everything I read there. Eventually I was able to resolve my concerns by concluding that this guy had clearly had some kind of spiritual experiences and however he chose to convey them was fine. Maybe don Juan is totally fictional, but it's sort of like Socrates in Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives--a blend of fact and fiction used as a way to convey a story/spiritual experiences.
Parallels to teachings of Eckhart Tolle
Part of what kept me reading even after learning that maybe there was nothing even remotely real about don Juan was that it didn't matter because so much of what he was saying was exactly the same as what other teachers say. I liked the fact that he was describing the same concepts in slightly different ways using slightly different terms.
The most immediate parallels I drew were to the teachings of Eckhart Tolle. "we are possessors of energy that has awareness that we are the means by which the universe becomes aware of itself." p. 229 [vaguely a spoiler alert] Energy body = inner body. Inner silence = presence. I think you could say the flyers' mind = ego ("The predators give us their mind, which becomes our mind. The predators' mind is baroque, contradictory, morose, filled with the fear of being discovered any minute now."p. 220) and the flyers = pain body ("the predators create flares of awareness that they proceed to consume in a ruthless, predatory fashion. They give us inane problems that force those flares of awareness to rise, and in this manner they keep us alive in order for them to be fed with the energetic flare of our pseudoconcerns." p. 223)
I think the most striking difference between the two teachings, and the part that I found interesting, was thinking about these concepts of ego and pain body as coming from totally outside of ourselves, as predators that are preying on us. In a way, it makes it easier to be aware of these things as they arise rather than thinking that that these patterns are a part of you. Seeing them as something outside of yourself seems like it can make it easier to recognize them and not feed them.
How the book came to me
Being under a certain age, I had never heard of Carlos Castaneda or The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge. I was using the wander-through-the-shelves method to find a new book to read and came across some titles by him. I wanted to read more spirituality books by people of color, so this seemed like a good fit. I picked up The Active Side of Infinity first, and even though I could gather that, as the cover noted he was known for being the "Author or The Teachings of Don Juan," something made me stick with this choice instead of his earlier works.
I definitely had a push/pull relationship with the book. I felt like I had to push myself to read it, but at the same time, I liked it when I read it. Not unlike the relationship he describes with don Juan, I suppose. I actually tried to take the book back to the library twice before I finished it. The first time the automatic book check in was broken and the second time it was working but would not accept the book because it is older and did not have the appropriate bar code sticker on it. After that I was resigned to the fact that I was supposed to read this book.
Who is Carlos Castaneda
I wanted to not break the spell and just try to experience this book without knowing who this seemingly well-known but mysterious author was, so I resisted learning anything more about him until I was about three-quarters of the way through and I broke down and looked on Wikipedia. I kind of wish I hadn't because I didn't like everything I read there. Eventually I was able to resolve my concerns by concluding that this guy had clearly had some kind of spiritual experiences and however he chose to convey them was fine. Maybe don Juan is totally fictional, but it's sort of like Socrates in Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives--a blend of fact and fiction used as a way to convey a story/spiritual experiences.
Parallels to teachings of Eckhart Tolle
Part of what kept me reading even after learning that maybe there was nothing even remotely real about don Juan was that it didn't matter because so much of what he was saying was exactly the same as what other teachers say. I liked the fact that he was describing the same concepts in slightly different ways using slightly different terms.
The most immediate parallels I drew were to the teachings of Eckhart Tolle. "we are possessors of energy that has awareness that we are the means by which the universe becomes aware of itself." p. 229 [vaguely a spoiler alert] Energy body = inner body. Inner silence = presence. I think you could say the flyers' mind = ego ("The predators give us their mind, which becomes our mind. The predators' mind is baroque, contradictory, morose, filled with the fear of being discovered any minute now."p. 220) and the flyers = pain body ("the predators create flares of awareness that they proceed to consume in a ruthless, predatory fashion. They give us inane problems that force those flares of awareness to rise, and in this manner they keep us alive in order for them to be fed with the energetic flare of our pseudoconcerns." p. 223)
I think the most striking difference between the two teachings, and the part that I found interesting, was thinking about these concepts of ego and pain body as coming from totally outside of ourselves, as predators that are preying on us. In a way, it makes it easier to be aware of these things as they arise rather than thinking that that these patterns are a part of you. Seeing them as something outside of yourself seems like it can make it easier to recognize them and not feed them.
How the book came to me
Being under a certain age, I had never heard of Carlos Castaneda or The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge. I was using the wander-through-the-shelves method to find a new book to read and came across some titles by him. I wanted to read more spirituality books by people of color, so this seemed like a good fit. I picked up The Active Side of Infinity first, and even though I could gather that, as the cover noted he was known for being the "Author or The Teachings of Don Juan," something made me stick with this choice instead of his earlier works.
I definitely had a push/pull relationship with the book. I felt like I had to push myself to read it, but at the same time, I liked it when I read it. Not unlike the relationship he describes with don Juan, I suppose. I actually tried to take the book back to the library twice before I finished it. The first time the automatic book check in was broken and the second time it was working but would not accept the book because it is older and did not have the appropriate bar code sticker on it. After that I was resigned to the fact that I was supposed to read this book.
March 14, 2016
"We'll all die in Hollywood."
Journey
Power
Awareness
Infinity
Energy
Horizon
Abyss
"It's only when the mortar hardens that the loose bricks become a structure."
Don Juan to Carlos Castaneda "Don't admire people from afar, that is the surest way to create mythological beings."
"Our victories are fleeting. Sorcerers, however do have the upper hand; as being on their way to dying, they have someone whispering in their ear that everything is ephemeral. The whisperer is death, the infallible advisor, the only one who won't ever tell you a lie."
"Human beings are beings that are going to die," don Juan said, "Sorcerers firmly maintain that the only way to have a grip on our world, and on what we do in it, is by fully accepting that we are beings on the way to dying. Without this basic acceptance, our lives, our doings, and the world in which we live are unmanageable affairs." "But is the mere acceptance of this so far-reaching?" (Carlos) asked in a tone of quasi-protest. "You bet your life!" don Juan said, smiling. "However, it's not the mere acceptance that does the trick. We have to embody that acceptance and live it all the way through. Sorcerers throughout the ages have said that the view of our death is the most sobering view that exists. What is wrong with us human beings, and has been wrong since time time immemorial, is that without ever stating it in so many words, we believe that we have entered the realm of immortality. We behave as if we were never going to die - an infantile arrogance. But even more injurious than this sense of immortality is what comes with it; the sense that we can engulf this inconceivable universe with our minds."
"To recount events is magical for sorcerers" don Juan said, "It isn't just telling stories, it is seeing the underlying fabric of events."
"The universe has no limits, and the possibilities at play in the universe at large are indeed incommensurable. So don't fall prey to the axiom, "I believe only what I see", because it is the dumbest stand one can possibly take". Don Juan.
Journey
Power
Awareness
Infinity
Energy
Horizon
Abyss
"It's only when the mortar hardens that the loose bricks become a structure."
Don Juan to Carlos Castaneda "Don't admire people from afar, that is the surest way to create mythological beings."
"Our victories are fleeting. Sorcerers, however do have the upper hand; as being on their way to dying, they have someone whispering in their ear that everything is ephemeral. The whisperer is death, the infallible advisor, the only one who won't ever tell you a lie."
"Human beings are beings that are going to die," don Juan said, "Sorcerers firmly maintain that the only way to have a grip on our world, and on what we do in it, is by fully accepting that we are beings on the way to dying. Without this basic acceptance, our lives, our doings, and the world in which we live are unmanageable affairs." "But is the mere acceptance of this so far-reaching?" (Carlos) asked in a tone of quasi-protest. "You bet your life!" don Juan said, smiling. "However, it's not the mere acceptance that does the trick. We have to embody that acceptance and live it all the way through. Sorcerers throughout the ages have said that the view of our death is the most sobering view that exists. What is wrong with us human beings, and has been wrong since time time immemorial, is that without ever stating it in so many words, we believe that we have entered the realm of immortality. We behave as if we were never going to die - an infantile arrogance. But even more injurious than this sense of immortality is what comes with it; the sense that we can engulf this inconceivable universe with our minds."
"To recount events is magical for sorcerers" don Juan said, "It isn't just telling stories, it is seeing the underlying fabric of events."
"The universe has no limits, and the possibilities at play in the universe at large are indeed incommensurable. So don't fall prey to the axiom, "I believe only what I see", because it is the dumbest stand one can possibly take". Don Juan.
February 18, 2009
Fraud or not This was a life changing book for me. opened up my mind to possibilities and set me on a personal quest of discovery.
February 2, 2012
Once the pages were opened, I couldn't put the book down until I reached the end. It was a good recap (and refresher) of CC's earlier books I had read years ago. Whether don Juan Matus and his teachings are fact or fiction didn't matter. What mattered was that Castaneda's spin on existentialism and the human experience presented an explanation to many of our yearning questions on this topic. And more importantly, it resonated with my need to embark on self-discovery and attain higher spiritual awareness. I am not buying into everything he wrote or claimed that had happened to him, but his books do offer a certain view that begs further exploration as well as to serve as a reminder for me to return to the "warrior's path."
January 7, 2009
It facinates me to unknown end how the Shaman are able to understand so much about our universe without ever taking a physics class. The values and experiences shared in this book are powerful enough for one to rediscover God and take a whole new perspective on what is going on around us.
August 3, 2017
I'm bailing out after 100 pages. The writing is poor. The narrative is not compelling. The 'shamanism' seems like so much psychobabble. Like it was generated by a philosophy bot on twitter.
Sorry - but I can't waste time on this narrative with no compelling dramatic tension.
I had read one of his earlier and more popular books about the teachings of Don Juan and it was interesting in a weird way. I believe this is the 12th of his 12 books - that may be why it feels like he's mailing it in and rehashing.
Couple points of clarity.
1. I don't care if it's all made up. Most of the great religious and philosophical works are written as narrative metaphors. Not a concern. Although this story seems constructed after the fact to fit the earlier narrative.
2. I am no stranger to works of philosophy. I will stick to a book if it has some philosophical value.
3. There are a couple of great mind-opening thoughts scattered here and there amidst the trash, but it's not worth digging through this dung-heap of a book to get to them.
I hope the Yaquis don't come out of infinity to haunt me.
Chris Russell - Cape Cod - August 3rd 2017
Sorry - but I can't waste time on this narrative with no compelling dramatic tension.
I had read one of his earlier and more popular books about the teachings of Don Juan and it was interesting in a weird way. I believe this is the 12th of his 12 books - that may be why it feels like he's mailing it in and rehashing.
Couple points of clarity.
1. I don't care if it's all made up. Most of the great religious and philosophical works are written as narrative metaphors. Not a concern. Although this story seems constructed after the fact to fit the earlier narrative.
2. I am no stranger to works of philosophy. I will stick to a book if it has some philosophical value.
3. There are a couple of great mind-opening thoughts scattered here and there amidst the trash, but it's not worth digging through this dung-heap of a book to get to them.
I hope the Yaquis don't come out of infinity to haunt me.
Chris Russell - Cape Cod - August 3rd 2017
November 13, 2015
I indulged in a bit of weirdness with Carlos Castanada’s The Active Side of Infinity. If you haven’t heard of Castanada, his is an interesting story about an ordinary individual who discovers his esoteric side when he meets a sorcerer called Don Juan. I grew up listening to stories about him and so I expected a lot of magic when I picked up this book, but since this was one of his last in the series, he spoke about the ordinariness of his life and how he used memory as a tool to go to the other side. The earlier books explore weirdness in a more satisfactory manner.
January 22, 2008
Is it just me, or have Carlos Castaneda's books devolved by this point? Whereas previous books in the series gave the spiritual warrior techniques and food for thought, this book just feels like bad science fiction. Gone are the unfathomable mysteries and in their place we have mere caricatures of the real Don Juan and Carlos.
The first five books are essential reading in my opinion. This book has the feel of an anomaly to me.
The first five books are essential reading in my opinion. This book has the feel of an anomaly to me.
January 24, 2018
This one is a mind expander. It forces you to look at the universe and your role in it in a completely different light and since I’m likely never going through sorcerer training I guess I’ll have to settle for the metaphors. . .which were good too. I liked the ideas about sacrifice, looking at things without attachment, and the references to luminous balls of light that exist in all of us. I certainly agree that inner silence can help one get clarity on almost anything.
May 27, 2013
This is my first experience reading Carlos Castaneda and I found it one minute very profound and the next infantile. I came away feeling very glad to have read it though. The character, Don Juan, whether fictitious or not exemplified a believable being with probable and fresh ideas about life and the universe.
March 8, 2020
I found this to be an exciting book, though much of it was incomprehensible to me.
We learn much of Carlos’ early life, his life before meeting Don Juan. The latter had told him to collect the memorable events in his life and he did so. Doing this would prepare him to enter “the active side of infinity”.
Even though I’ve read the complete book, I still haven’t a clue about what this means
Don Juan is a Yaqui, a leader, in a generation of shamans, or sorcerers, and has to find a new man or woman who, like himself, “shows a double energetic structure”. Carlos has this double energetic structure.
Don Juan tells him “When I see your energy, I see two balls of luminosity superimposed, one on top of the other, and that feature binds us together”.
Don Juan wants to start Carlos off on something shamans called the warrior’s way, “backed by the strength of the area where he lived, which was the center of very strong emotions and reactions”.
“To be a sorcerer means to reach a level of awareness that makes inconceivable things available.”
The task of sorcerers is to face infinity.
What makes human beings into sorcerers is their capacity to perceive energy directly as it flows into the universe.
All human beings possess awareness which permits them to see energy directly, but sorcerers are “the only human beings who were deliberately conscious of seeing energy directly”.
Infinity is everything that surrounds us.
“Infinity, the spirit, the dark sea of awareness --- is something that exists out there and rules our lives.”
Carlos informs us: “I was truly capable of comprehending everything he was saying, and yet I didn’t know what the hell he was talking about”.
Don Juan was an extraordinary blend of both his teachers – on the other hand, extremely quiet and introspective, on the other, extremely open and funny. A nagual is empty, “and that emptiness doesn’t reflect the world, but reflects infinity”.
Carlos goes to Sonora to see Don Juan. He, Carlos, is in turmoil. Don Juan tells him that is because he is aware that “his time is up”. He gives Don Juan a full account of his life in order to “abandon the fortress of the self”.
Carlos recounts two episodes involving a psychiatrist and a professor of archaeology which put him into an “unknown emotional state”. Don Juan tells him his world is coming to an end.
The old sorcerers worked from a state of inner silence, suspension of the internal dialogue. (I have previously been on an “enlightenment” course and got help from Jo Dunning to attain this state which she informs us is a prerequisite to obtaining “enlightenment”.) These sorcerers “shook themselves” in order to reach that coveted state of awareness by jumping into waterfalls or hanging upside-down from the top branch of a tree. (Luckily, in Jo Dunning’s course we were not required to do either of these extreme things!)
Inner silence was accrued, accumulated. The desired result is what the old sorcerers called stopping the world, “the moment when everything around us ceases to be what it’s always been”.
This is also called “total freedom”, “Sorcerers need a breaking point for the workings of inner silence to set in.”
This means that at a given moment the continuity of their lives has to break in order for inner silence to set in.
“Your breaking point is to discontinue your life and you know it.”
Don Juan tells Carlos he must leave his friends, for good, since he can’t continue on the warrior’s path carrying his personal history with him.
Carlos’ friends are his points of reference and thus have to go. Sorcerers have only one point of reference – infinity.
He should rent a drab hotel room and stay there until he dies – not his body but his person – “Your person has very little to do with your body. Your person is your mind and --- your mind is not yours.”
Don Juan insists that Carlos write a list of all the people he has met, from the present back to the very beginning of his life. He must start with the first person on the list and recollect everything he can about that person; he must end with Mummy and Daddy and remember everything about them.
Carlos discovers that he is extremely “heavy-handed, obsessive and domineering”, Don Juan tells him that the power of the recapitulation is that it “stirs up all the garbage of our lives and brings it to the surface”.
As we recapitulate our lives, we realize our inconsistencies, our repetitions, but something in us puts up a tremendous resistance to recapitulating.
Only after a gigantic upheaval, called the “usher”, is the road free for us. Walking is always something that precipitates memories. The backs of the legs are the warehouse of man’s personal history. So the two go for a long walk in the hills.
He then remembers a series of events from his childhood where he becomes extremely proficient at playing billiards, is exploited by his grandfather and placed in an untenable position that cannot be resolved, whether to accept or reject a crooked deal.
Don Juan tells him that this event summed up the whole of his life – “You are always faced with a situation that is the same as the one you never resolved.”
The book ends with Carlos jumping into an abyss.
To sum up, I found the book absorbing and fascinating, but difficult. I would highly recommend it to all those interested in the teachings of Don Juan. I found it to be one of Carlos’ best books.
We learn much of Carlos’ early life, his life before meeting Don Juan. The latter had told him to collect the memorable events in his life and he did so. Doing this would prepare him to enter “the active side of infinity”.
Even though I’ve read the complete book, I still haven’t a clue about what this means
Don Juan is a Yaqui, a leader, in a generation of shamans, or sorcerers, and has to find a new man or woman who, like himself, “shows a double energetic structure”. Carlos has this double energetic structure.
Don Juan tells him “When I see your energy, I see two balls of luminosity superimposed, one on top of the other, and that feature binds us together”.
Don Juan wants to start Carlos off on something shamans called the warrior’s way, “backed by the strength of the area where he lived, which was the center of very strong emotions and reactions”.
“To be a sorcerer means to reach a level of awareness that makes inconceivable things available.”
The task of sorcerers is to face infinity.
What makes human beings into sorcerers is their capacity to perceive energy directly as it flows into the universe.
All human beings possess awareness which permits them to see energy directly, but sorcerers are “the only human beings who were deliberately conscious of seeing energy directly”.
Infinity is everything that surrounds us.
“Infinity, the spirit, the dark sea of awareness --- is something that exists out there and rules our lives.”
Carlos informs us: “I was truly capable of comprehending everything he was saying, and yet I didn’t know what the hell he was talking about”.
Don Juan was an extraordinary blend of both his teachers – on the other hand, extremely quiet and introspective, on the other, extremely open and funny. A nagual is empty, “and that emptiness doesn’t reflect the world, but reflects infinity”.
Carlos goes to Sonora to see Don Juan. He, Carlos, is in turmoil. Don Juan tells him that is because he is aware that “his time is up”. He gives Don Juan a full account of his life in order to “abandon the fortress of the self”.
Carlos recounts two episodes involving a psychiatrist and a professor of archaeology which put him into an “unknown emotional state”. Don Juan tells him his world is coming to an end.
The old sorcerers worked from a state of inner silence, suspension of the internal dialogue. (I have previously been on an “enlightenment” course and got help from Jo Dunning to attain this state which she informs us is a prerequisite to obtaining “enlightenment”.) These sorcerers “shook themselves” in order to reach that coveted state of awareness by jumping into waterfalls or hanging upside-down from the top branch of a tree. (Luckily, in Jo Dunning’s course we were not required to do either of these extreme things!)
Inner silence was accrued, accumulated. The desired result is what the old sorcerers called stopping the world, “the moment when everything around us ceases to be what it’s always been”.
This is also called “total freedom”, “Sorcerers need a breaking point for the workings of inner silence to set in.”
This means that at a given moment the continuity of their lives has to break in order for inner silence to set in.
“Your breaking point is to discontinue your life and you know it.”
Don Juan tells Carlos he must leave his friends, for good, since he can’t continue on the warrior’s path carrying his personal history with him.
Carlos’ friends are his points of reference and thus have to go. Sorcerers have only one point of reference – infinity.
He should rent a drab hotel room and stay there until he dies – not his body but his person – “Your person has very little to do with your body. Your person is your mind and --- your mind is not yours.”
Don Juan insists that Carlos write a list of all the people he has met, from the present back to the very beginning of his life. He must start with the first person on the list and recollect everything he can about that person; he must end with Mummy and Daddy and remember everything about them.
Carlos discovers that he is extremely “heavy-handed, obsessive and domineering”, Don Juan tells him that the power of the recapitulation is that it “stirs up all the garbage of our lives and brings it to the surface”.
As we recapitulate our lives, we realize our inconsistencies, our repetitions, but something in us puts up a tremendous resistance to recapitulating.
Only after a gigantic upheaval, called the “usher”, is the road free for us. Walking is always something that precipitates memories. The backs of the legs are the warehouse of man’s personal history. So the two go for a long walk in the hills.
He then remembers a series of events from his childhood where he becomes extremely proficient at playing billiards, is exploited by his grandfather and placed in an untenable position that cannot be resolved, whether to accept or reject a crooked deal.
Don Juan tells him that this event summed up the whole of his life – “You are always faced with a situation that is the same as the one you never resolved.”
The book ends with Carlos jumping into an abyss.
To sum up, I found the book absorbing and fascinating, but difficult. I would highly recommend it to all those interested in the teachings of Don Juan. I found it to be one of Carlos’ best books.
December 4, 2021
Uno de los mejores libros de Castaneda donde hace referencias claras y precisas del ¨enemigo¨ de la humanidad que los Toltecas llamaron los ¨voladores¨ un dato que se acerca mucho a los ¨arcontes¨ mencionados en los textos gnósticos, como aquellos seres multidimensionales que roban energía vital al humano desde hace milenios, por esta razón los diferentes mitos y sistemas de creencias hicieron hincapié en la necesidad de salir de este nivel de dependencia hoy tan de moda con todos estos seres ¨de luz¨ de dudosa divinidad que han hackeado la información y creencias de quienes buscan respuestas en su camino espiritual, una trampa tan vigente hoy como en el pasado.
Volviendo al libro, que en una primera aproximación pareciera una historia de aventura, representa un manual de instrucciones de como salir de esta red de ilusiones que ha manipulado al individuo desde siempre! entendida desde el paradigma chamánico sumamente práctico, algo que investigadores modernos como Salvador Sixfredo también reconocieron.
Volviendo al libro, que en una primera aproximación pareciera una historia de aventura, representa un manual de instrucciones de como salir de esta red de ilusiones que ha manipulado al individuo desde siempre! entendida desde el paradigma chamánico sumamente práctico, algo que investigadores modernos como Salvador Sixfredo también reconocieron.
March 6, 2018
On one level, this book is part of Carlos Castaneda’s (1925-1998) twelve book series about his adventures as a sorcerer, beginning with his long apprenticeship to don Juan Matus (circa 1892-1972 – although Matus’ very existence has been called into question by critics). On another level, this book is a sort of manual on writing memoirs, a perennial genre that is currently in vogue.
It begins with don Juan telling Carlos that to become a sorcerer he must put together an “album” consisting of significant memories. Initially, Carlos comes back with the story of being jilted at the altar many years before. Don Juan points out that the story is self-centered, and Carlos neither loved this fiancée nor did she make a lasting impact on him; so this story is rejected. Don Juan explains that the kind of story he wants is about something beyond Carlos himself, even though Carlos should be in the middle of it as a participant. The stories that don Juan accepts are about other people, and some are also about journeys. In cases where the other person in the memoir is still alive, don Juan urges Carlos to go find that person and thank them, sometimes by making them a gift.
At least one of the stories is about women that Carlos had cared about but had hurt. Once, he had two girlfriends simultaneously, and a male friend advised him to play with the affections of both women. This turned out disastrously. Carlos had to go away. Years later, he visits the women and, per don Juan’s instructions, offers each woman any gift that she wants. Don Juan advises that the gifts should leave Carlos penniless, and they do. (The first woman asks for a fur coat and the second requests a station wagon.) The important thing is that they both agree to forgive him. According to don Juan, the gifts abolish Castaneda’s obligations to these women.
Most of the memoirs deal with people from Carlos’ boyhood who are no longer alive: among them, a brave boy who went with Carlos through caves under a mountain, Carlos’ father, a grandfather, a grandmother, his grandfather’s worst enemy who became Carlos’ friend, his grandmother’s adopted son who might be described as a magnificent failure, and the man who introduced Carlos to don Juan but whom Carlos ignored when he most needed Carlos’ friendship. Not only does Carlos tell their stories, but he posthumously thanks them, especially at the end of his apprenticeship when he is about to say goodbye to don Juan and become a sorcerer in his own right.
Woven together with these stories is Carlos’ exposure to don Juan’s most advanced teachings. Once, don Juan revealed that the shack in the desert where Carlos always met him was not don Juan’s main residence but a place chosen because it was suited to Carlos’ spiritual poverty. In this book, don Juan finally allows Carlos to visit his real house surrounded by trees and in a mountainous region. Carlos receives revelations about procedures and events in earlier books in the series. For example, oftentimes when don Juan or don Genaro slap Carlos on the back, they are not kidding around but are manipulating the energy field around Carlos so that his consciousness will shift, allowing him to perceive the lesson at hand. Carlos also explores the special art of “dreaming” and learns to manipulate his own perception. In one chapter, he and don Juan have agreed to rendezvous in a particular Mexican town, but Carlos falls asleep. The next thing he knows, he is meeting with don Juan in that very town. He also is introduced to the most paranoid-sounding part of don Juan’s worldview: the flyers. The flyers are what don Juan has referred to on other occasions as “an alien installation” in the human mind. These are shadow entities that feed off of the aura of every human. They do much of our thinking for us, convincing us to ignore everything that casts doubt on consensual reality. It is like “The Matrix” without the technology and the humanoid enforcers. Carlos must battle the flyers by reclaiming his autonomy. (It is like taking the red pill, to keep up the “Matrix” analogy.)
Readers of Castaneda’s earlier book, “Tales of Power,” will be familiar with this book’s penultimate chapter in which Carlos and two fellow apprentices say good bye to don Juan and don Genaro and then leap from a precipice as their final initiation. I am struck by the utterly anti-Christian (non-Christian or counter-Christian?) messages here. For example, like Jesus at the Last Supper, don Juan says he is leaving this earth, but whereas Jesus urges his disciples to remember him and avows that he will remember them, don Juan tells Carlos not to think of him anymore, and don Juan declares that he will no longer think of Carlos. This seems to be because they are both about to change in profound ways and will no longer be the same beings.
In books subsequent to “Tales of Power,” Carlos and the other two apprentices reappear as sorcerers, none the worse for their plunge over the cliff, but without any explanation of how they survived. In this book, the final chapter offers an explanation of sorts, but it is a strangely inconclusive “sorcerer’s explanation,” explaining so little that it becomes clear why Castaneda has not discussed it before. He himself does not understand what happened. It is only possible for him to accept that it must have happened and that he is still alive, although much changed. This leap of faith – rather than the leap off the cliff itself – seems to be the more important step in becoming a full-fledged sorcerer.
It begins with don Juan telling Carlos that to become a sorcerer he must put together an “album” consisting of significant memories. Initially, Carlos comes back with the story of being jilted at the altar many years before. Don Juan points out that the story is self-centered, and Carlos neither loved this fiancée nor did she make a lasting impact on him; so this story is rejected. Don Juan explains that the kind of story he wants is about something beyond Carlos himself, even though Carlos should be in the middle of it as a participant. The stories that don Juan accepts are about other people, and some are also about journeys. In cases where the other person in the memoir is still alive, don Juan urges Carlos to go find that person and thank them, sometimes by making them a gift.
At least one of the stories is about women that Carlos had cared about but had hurt. Once, he had two girlfriends simultaneously, and a male friend advised him to play with the affections of both women. This turned out disastrously. Carlos had to go away. Years later, he visits the women and, per don Juan’s instructions, offers each woman any gift that she wants. Don Juan advises that the gifts should leave Carlos penniless, and they do. (The first woman asks for a fur coat and the second requests a station wagon.) The important thing is that they both agree to forgive him. According to don Juan, the gifts abolish Castaneda’s obligations to these women.
Most of the memoirs deal with people from Carlos’ boyhood who are no longer alive: among them, a brave boy who went with Carlos through caves under a mountain, Carlos’ father, a grandfather, a grandmother, his grandfather’s worst enemy who became Carlos’ friend, his grandmother’s adopted son who might be described as a magnificent failure, and the man who introduced Carlos to don Juan but whom Carlos ignored when he most needed Carlos’ friendship. Not only does Carlos tell their stories, but he posthumously thanks them, especially at the end of his apprenticeship when he is about to say goodbye to don Juan and become a sorcerer in his own right.
Woven together with these stories is Carlos’ exposure to don Juan’s most advanced teachings. Once, don Juan revealed that the shack in the desert where Carlos always met him was not don Juan’s main residence but a place chosen because it was suited to Carlos’ spiritual poverty. In this book, don Juan finally allows Carlos to visit his real house surrounded by trees and in a mountainous region. Carlos receives revelations about procedures and events in earlier books in the series. For example, oftentimes when don Juan or don Genaro slap Carlos on the back, they are not kidding around but are manipulating the energy field around Carlos so that his consciousness will shift, allowing him to perceive the lesson at hand. Carlos also explores the special art of “dreaming” and learns to manipulate his own perception. In one chapter, he and don Juan have agreed to rendezvous in a particular Mexican town, but Carlos falls asleep. The next thing he knows, he is meeting with don Juan in that very town. He also is introduced to the most paranoid-sounding part of don Juan’s worldview: the flyers. The flyers are what don Juan has referred to on other occasions as “an alien installation” in the human mind. These are shadow entities that feed off of the aura of every human. They do much of our thinking for us, convincing us to ignore everything that casts doubt on consensual reality. It is like “The Matrix” without the technology and the humanoid enforcers. Carlos must battle the flyers by reclaiming his autonomy. (It is like taking the red pill, to keep up the “Matrix” analogy.)
Readers of Castaneda’s earlier book, “Tales of Power,” will be familiar with this book’s penultimate chapter in which Carlos and two fellow apprentices say good bye to don Juan and don Genaro and then leap from a precipice as their final initiation. I am struck by the utterly anti-Christian (non-Christian or counter-Christian?) messages here. For example, like Jesus at the Last Supper, don Juan says he is leaving this earth, but whereas Jesus urges his disciples to remember him and avows that he will remember them, don Juan tells Carlos not to think of him anymore, and don Juan declares that he will no longer think of Carlos. This seems to be because they are both about to change in profound ways and will no longer be the same beings.
In books subsequent to “Tales of Power,” Carlos and the other two apprentices reappear as sorcerers, none the worse for their plunge over the cliff, but without any explanation of how they survived. In this book, the final chapter offers an explanation of sorts, but it is a strangely inconclusive “sorcerer’s explanation,” explaining so little that it becomes clear why Castaneda has not discussed it before. He himself does not understand what happened. It is only possible for him to accept that it must have happened and that he is still alive, although much changed. This leap of faith – rather than the leap off the cliff itself – seems to be the more important step in becoming a full-fledged sorcerer.
October 22, 2021
Sex, drugs and shamans.
February 27, 2023
There isn't much in any of these books and they are full of repeated points and repeated questions, they could all be half the size without much loss.
Strangely I found them entertaining, they are a one off, I felt that there was gold in them somewhere and this resulted in me reading three of them. On reflection I realise the entertainment I found was in anticipating something more that would soon come, it didn't. I will not continue reading any more Castaneda books, I've had my fill and realise that if I read another with anticipation and find disappointment it will ruin the memory I have of the three already read.
Strangely I found them entertaining, they are a one off, I felt that there was gold in them somewhere and this resulted in me reading three of them. On reflection I realise the entertainment I found was in anticipating something more that would soon come, it didn't. I will not continue reading any more Castaneda books, I've had my fill and realise that if I read another with anticipation and find disappointment it will ruin the memory I have of the three already read.
May 1, 2024
Increíble, magistral. Lo leí sin expectativas, pero de igual forma las hubiera superado. Aunque el camino espiritual de Castaneda difiera del de otros grandes sabios, la sabiduría impresa aquí es totalmente real. Estuvo realmente entretenido y los misterios que reveló son invaluables.
Un magnífico final, tanto de la saga como del propio libro.
Un magnífico final, tanto de la saga como del propio libro.
Read
July 24, 2011Another bright shiny new book that hasn't most likely been read by me.
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.
July 9, 2018
I thought I had read all of the books Castaneda wrote about his travels with Don Juan. Evidently, I hadn't. This book felt a lot like a cap stone. It challenged me less than the others. It contained less compelling material than the others. It gave closure though.
There was a very relevant part though, for me, which i'll also post as a quote if it isn't already up.
"The great issue with us males is our frailty," he went on. "When our awareness begins to
grow, it grows like a column, right on the midpoint of our luminous being, from the ground up.
That column has to reach a considerable height before we can rely on it. At this time in your life,
as a sorcerer, you easily lose your grip on your new awareness. When you do that, you forget
everything you have done and seen on the warrior-travelers' path because your consciousness
shifts back to the awareness of your everyday life. I have explained to you that the task of every
male sorcerer is to reclaim everything he has done and seen on the warrior-travelers' path while
he was on new levels of awareness. The problem of every male sorcerer is that he easily forgets
because his awareness loses its new level and falls to the ground at the drop of a hat."
There was a very relevant part though, for me, which i'll also post as a quote if it isn't already up.
"The great issue with us males is our frailty," he went on. "When our awareness begins to
grow, it grows like a column, right on the midpoint of our luminous being, from the ground up.
That column has to reach a considerable height before we can rely on it. At this time in your life,
as a sorcerer, you easily lose your grip on your new awareness. When you do that, you forget
everything you have done and seen on the warrior-travelers' path because your consciousness
shifts back to the awareness of your everyday life. I have explained to you that the task of every
male sorcerer is to reclaim everything he has done and seen on the warrior-travelers' path while
he was on new levels of awareness. The problem of every male sorcerer is that he easily forgets
because his awareness loses its new level and falls to the ground at the drop of a hat."
Want to read
May 25, 2007From Library Journal
Completed shortly before anthropologist-shaman Castaneda's death in April 1998, this book serves as the fulfillment of a task his teacher, the Yaqui Indian sorcerer Don Juan Matus, gave him many years ago, when Castaneda was instructed to collect the significant events of his life. This was not, however, meant as a collection of major milestones in his physical existence but as a selective work describing the transcendent moments and meaningful insights that changed his life and brought him new understanding. Castaneda excels as a storyteller. Incidents both poignant and empowering form a solid thread through his shamanic development and ultimately total embrace of the world view of the Yaqui sorcerers. This basically autobiographical work is more personal than Castaneda's previous books, presenting a human portrait of a remote, mysterious figure. The supernatural occurrences defy explanation yet help to provide a fascinating look at a complex life.
Completed shortly before anthropologist-shaman Castaneda's death in April 1998, this book serves as the fulfillment of a task his teacher, the Yaqui Indian sorcerer Don Juan Matus, gave him many years ago, when Castaneda was instructed to collect the significant events of his life. This was not, however, meant as a collection of major milestones in his physical existence but as a selective work describing the transcendent moments and meaningful insights that changed his life and brought him new understanding. Castaneda excels as a storyteller. Incidents both poignant and empowering form a solid thread through his shamanic development and ultimately total embrace of the world view of the Yaqui sorcerers. This basically autobiographical work is more personal than Castaneda's previous books, presenting a human portrait of a remote, mysterious figure. The supernatural occurrences defy explanation yet help to provide a fascinating look at a complex life.
February 8, 2017
Whoever wrote this book didn't write the preceding books. The tone, style, structure and language of ASoF are completely different from the 'corpus Castaneda' (Teachings to AoD) that I've read at least half a dozen times since 1970. Moreover, there is nothing new in ASoF, no progression either technical, philosophical, historical or spiritual. The book is remarkable solely for its disjointed banality.
So, who wrote what? There are obviously two authors here. Did someone else write the main works to which Castaneda appended his name (with the agreement of the author) and then, in a fit of madness, attempt to write his own material (ASoF)? Or did someone else write ASoF? My guess is the latter, though the former can't be ruled out. Whichever it is, ASoF should be treated with skepticism.
So, who wrote what? There are obviously two authors here. Did someone else write the main works to which Castaneda appended his name (with the agreement of the author) and then, in a fit of madness, attempt to write his own material (ASoF)? Or did someone else write ASoF? My guess is the latter, though the former can't be ruled out. Whichever it is, ASoF should be treated with skepticism.
February 12, 2017
It's so hard to tell truth from fiction with Castaneda. I mostly read this in preparation for re-reading The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge and the main thing I noted was that the story of how don Juan and Castaneda met seems totally at odds with what was in his first book, as well as what was in the biography written by his wife.
It has a few interesting things in, but mostly, it's a rambling, semi-coherent, retelling of the "Castaneda as next generation of Mexican sorcerer" myth - the one invented by himself and constantly updated to fill new books - mixed with irrelevant personal anecdotes.
It has a few interesting things in, but mostly, it's a rambling, semi-coherent, retelling of the "Castaneda as next generation of Mexican sorcerer" myth - the one invented by himself and constantly updated to fill new books - mixed with irrelevant personal anecdotes.
September 13, 2007
holy cow. i think castaneda had alzheimers when he wrote this, or maybe he had like a 9th-grader working as an intern for him and the 9th-grader wrote the dumbest, most ridiculous piece of insane crap he could, then tricked castaneda into signing it, then sent it off to the publisher, where the 9th-grader's stoner friend worked as an intern, and the stoner friend got it published by blackmailing his boss.
or something. the only reason i read the whole thing was because i was curious whether the bizarre angry-teenage-boy tone could actually be maintained throughout. it was. he screams obscenities on almost every page. wow. really bad.
or something. the only reason i read the whole thing was because i was curious whether the bizarre angry-teenage-boy tone could actually be maintained throughout. it was. he screams obscenities on almost every page. wow. really bad.
January 23, 2015
So, for a long time I'd been trying to get to a point where Carlos Castaneda's work resonates with me. Having started and abandoned many of his previous books, it was NOT easy, but I was sure that if I kept trying, I'd find a book that I liked.
Anyway, this seems to be the one in which finally I 'got' it. Bloody good reading.
So, by my experience I would recommend it to other people trying to get their heads around Carlos' work. Worked for me anyway :)
Though this may just be my experience...
Anyway, this seems to be the one in which finally I 'got' it. Bloody good reading.
So, by my experience I would recommend it to other people trying to get their heads around Carlos' work. Worked for me anyway :)
Though this may just be my experience...
July 25, 2007
Excelent book about chammanisn in the north part of mexico. It talks about the teachings of Don Juan, an old chamman with great knowledge of life, magic, nature. It is based on the author experiences with peyote. Great descriptions of other realities we are afraid to look for.
I learn that my ego is my worst enemy and that is why it rejects any kind of spiritual knowledge (awakening) since it may die.
I learn that my ego is my worst enemy and that is why it rejects any kind of spiritual knowledge (awakening) since it may die.
October 4, 2007
This book was a complete trip. Carlos Casteneda is brilliant when it comes to explaining and documenting. I recommend reading the first two or three books first though which are "The Teachings of Don Juan," "A Seperate Reality," and "Journey To Ixtlan." You really have to be willing to let your mind go and just take everything for how it is to get the full effect of what Don Juan is explaining to Casteneda.
October 15, 2008
This has been my introduction to Carlos Castaneda's "world". I find my favorite types of books are ones that lead me to question more and more of life. Without a doubt, this one opened the gates to intrigue.
"There are ups and downs of daily living. You win, you lose and you don't know when you win or when you lose. This is the price one pays for living under the rule of self-reflection." ~CC
"There are ups and downs of daily living. You win, you lose and you don't know when you win or when you lose. This is the price one pays for living under the rule of self-reflection." ~CC
June 20, 2017
Even if you have never read one single book written by Carlos Castaneda, if you happened to find and read this one, you will be forever enlightened about shamanism as practiced by the Indians in Mexico. We will not see the like of Castaneda again, because he is now on The Active Side of Infinity.
For a full viewing of my review:
https://cdsmiller17.wordpress.com/201...
For a full viewing of my review:
https://cdsmiller17.wordpress.com/201...
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