The Teachings of Don Juan

Has anybody read this book by Carlos Casteneda? I recently heard some very cool things about this book. Apparently the song Third Eye by Tool is loosely based on the experiences in this book. I really want to read it.

 

Phantastic reading. One of the best novelists of this age. I just finished Tales of Power yesterday. All I can say for anyone interested in getting into Casteneda I would definetely recommend starting with Journey to Ixtlan then to Tales of Power. Those 2 plus second ring for the devotee. That is the best way to start. To have decided to go back after reading the series 15yrs ago. All I can say is I overlooked so much knowledge back then. The first and second deal with power plants and knowledge. 3 and 4 deal with training and preparation. 5 peaks. Art of Dreaming a little abstract. Infinity was very personal. Eagles gift and Power of Silence I read long ago and they are next on my list here. Well like I said start with Ixtalan to start getting the good stuff.

 

as far as i can tell castaneda was full of shit though. their all great books, good stories and some heady wisdom from don juan. but for the most part i think castaneda either made the whole thing up, or rode too closely that line between reality and delusion. idk, this is just my opinion.

the art of dreaming is very good though, and actually accurate as far as i can tell. it gets a bit far out at some point that i cant claim to know anything about. up until the threshold of the 3rd gate though i know to be possible. not sure about the realm of the inorganic beings, but am sure about the scouts.

edit: i think you just inspired me to go back and re-read the series. its been a few years.

 

I think that's actually the opinion of most anthropologist who studied the same people and regions. Not just bad anthropologists, but people who really get into and study the stuff....and believe or write about the invisible world and other cool stuff....but are more scientists than novelists. (Like T McKenna's brother, etc.)

That doesn't mean they aren't cool books and enlightening to read. But, I wouldn't read them as non-fiction...it's more fantasy.

 

ya, i question castaneda because his story dosent really reflect any kind of mystic culture im familiar with, some of the practices and results are too far out. there also isnt any emphasis on grounding practices in his series (unless he's left all that out, which id have a hard time believing, as grounding is the very foundation upon which this sort of work is built), it seems so often he's left with these intence expiriences with nothing to fall back on, which isnt somthing that is consistant with the sort of work he's doing. don juan as a teacher seems wise, but is a trickster and often intentionally manipulates his students provoking a mindfuck within them. why a teacher would pass along such heavy mysteries only to do things of that sort isnt consistant. it would be to easy to instigate insanity.
iv encountered a number of different mystic / shamanic cultures and as far as iv been able to observe, the process dosent work in the way castaneda describes. (not that i feel like i really know much of anything about such things). theres some heavy shit out there, but..... castaneda is too questionable.

 

Castaneda was disguising teachings in narratives. he does his job quite well. Most agree that Don Juan could not have been a real person, and even if he was surely he was not really a Yaqui medicine man because their traditions are not like Carlos depicts.

I liked "The art of Dreaming" a lot. legitimate techniques in there for lucid dreaming, stalking scouts and other useful dreaming medicine. I have read "the teachings of don juan", "A seperate reality," and "journey to ixtlan" as well. The were all good novels but none of these were as riveting and useful to me as "the art of dreaming". The storyline just fucks with your perception of reality. I have experienced some of the things he talks about in this book which makes it's implications all the more unsettling. A wierd story i can see how it would be too abstract for some. it gets into some deep, crazy, territory.

as was said earlier try not to read too much into them as non-fiction.

 

Read them all. Start from the beginning.

 

i just started reading A Separate Reality (the one after The Teachings of Don Juan) yesterday (before seeing this thread)
i haven't read any of Castaneda's other books, but will probably be interested enough to do so after this one.