Carlos Castaneda
Personal Information
Description
Carlos Castaneda was an American author with a Ph.D. in anthropology. 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 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 and descriptions of practices which enable an increased awareness. Castaneda withdrew from public view in 1973 to work further on his inner development, living in a large house in Westwood, California with three women whom he called "Fellow Travellers of Awareness." He founded Cleargreen, an organization that promotes Tensegrity®, which Dr. Castaneda described as the modern version of the “magical passes” of the shamans of ancient Mexico (Magical Passes p. 22). Magical Passes comprise bodily movements discovered in dream states by shamans of don Juan’s lineage, expanding their powers of perception. (Magical Passes p. 1-2) Castaneda’s first three books, The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge, A Separate Reality and Journey to Ixtlan, were written while Castaneda was an anthropology student at UCLA. He wrote these books as his research log describing his apprenticeship with a traditional "Man of Knowledge" identified as don Juan Matus, a Yaqui Indian from northern Mexico. Castaneda was awarded his bachelor's and doctoral degrees based on the work described in these books. For several years, anthropologists considered his work authentic and important, but then a number of exposés questioned Castaneda's veracity. Academic critics now claim the books are works of fiction, citing the books' internal contradictions, discrepancies between the books and anthropological data, alternate sources for Castaneda's detailed knowledge of shamanic practices and lack of corroborating evidence. --Wikipedia
Books
The active side of infinity
"Ordinarily, events that change our path are impersonal affairs, and yet extremely personal. My teacher, don Juan Matsus, said this is guiding me as his apprentice to collect what I considered to be the memorable events of my life…. Don Juan described the total goal of the shamanistic knowledge that he handled as the preparation for facing the definitive journey: the journey that every human being has to take at the end of his life. He said that what modern man referred to vaguely as life after death was, for those shamans, a concrete region filled to capacity with practical affairs of a different order than the practical affairs of daily life, yet bearing a similar functional practicality. Don Juan considered that to collect the memorable in their lives was, for shamans, the preparation for their entrance into that concrete region, which they called the active side of infinity." In this book written immediately before his death, anthropologist and shaman Carlos Castaneda gives us his most autobiographical and intimately revealing work ever, the fruit of a lifetime of experience and perhaps the most moving volume in his oeuvre.
The second ring of power
"Carlos Castaneda's extraordinary journey into the world of sorcery ... he takes the reader into a sorceric experience so intense, so terrifying, and so profoundly disturbing that it can only be described as a brilliant assault on every preconceived notion of life that is don Juan's remarkable legacy to his apprentice"--Cover.
Art of dreaming
Like the skins of an onion, there are other worlds existing within our own and, through training and study, we can alter our consciousness and visit these amazing places. The greatest student of traveling through those spiritual universes is anthropologist Carlos Castaneda. Via the teachings of the great sorcerer don Juan, he has taken millions of readers on amazing journeys of the soul with such books as The Teachings of Don Juan, A Separate Reality, and Journey to Ixtlan. After six years of study and meditation, Carlos has now written what may be his most significant book of all, The Art of Dreaming - a book that fully explores how those on a spiritual quest can use "the fourth gate" of dreams as a two-way hatch to other worlds. With The Art of Dreaming, you will learn, as Carlos did, how finding the way to alternate realities through the consciousness of dreams is the essence of the great sorcerers; how ancient, remarkable, and sometimes dangerous beings now live among us; and how don Juan's training allows two or more people to dream and explore together. You will witness an adventure of the psyche unlike any other you've ever experienced, and you will participate fully in Castaneda's latest discoveries and explorations - discoveries and explorations that are as eye-opening and thrilling as anything he's ever written about before. Most of all, however, you will be utterly captivated by the story of this man's remarkable life and journeys of the soul; journeys that could only come from the teachings of don Juan, and the writings of Carlos Castaneda.
The eagle's gift
"In this haunting and deeply personal book, Carlos Castaneda takes the reader into the very heart of sorcery, challenging both imagination and reason ... Castaneda emerges, for the first time, as ... a sorcerous leader"--Cover.