The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge

✨ Embark on a Mind-Expanding Journey with "The Teachings of Don Juan" ✨ Prepare to be captivated by the profound wisdom and transformative journey presented in "The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge." This mesmerizing book by Carlos Castaneda offers a remarkable glimpse into the world of Don Juan Matus, a Yaqui Indian sorcerer, and his teachings that transcend the boundaries of conventional knowledge. "The Teachings of Don Juan" takes readers on a thought-provoking adventure that challenges our perception of reality and offers deep insights into the human experience. Through Carlos Castaneda's vivid storytelling, we are introduced to the ancient wisdom and shamanic practices of Don Juan, providing a unique perspective on life, consciousness, and the mysteries of the universe. It's a journey that will expand your mind, awaken your curiosity, and ignite your thirst for knowledge. 🌌📚💫

I regard Casteneda's eight books (i.e., not including those subsequent books written by his companions) as sacred literature. And, like most such, as myth, which does not mean that which we used to believe but now know is false - it means that which is true in its logical structure without regard to the factual veracity of the stories. Like the New Testament and the Bhagavad Gita, the stories are designed to "hook" the reader into a following a new worldview. They all say the same thing in their mythopoeic ways, and multiple views gives good perspective as to the fundamental meaning.

Fascinating anthropomorphic study. The book consists of various diary entrees of Carlos Casaneda encounters with an elderly Indian Yaqui Sorcerer who takes him under his wing and makes him an apprentice to ancient secret teachings that paradoxically contain primitive ideas and rituals with profound concepts. This to be "a man of knowledge.".This book is truly a cultural-religious-spiritual study before the hippy, Leary, Pranskter movements. I think most would agree it is a profound study of both ordinary and non-ordinary realities. What makes this so interesting is the simplicity of a primitive culture that contains hidden variables of deep meanings which are beyond our modern superficial Western culture that brags of it's technology and materialisms. We may have the sciences to manipulate raw materials but we are seriously lacking. In this book, there are pre-agreements made directly and alluded to before experimentation using three separate hallucinatory plants; Jimpson Weed, Peyote and Mushrooms, each plant representing a very different perception of non-ordinary reality, from power and ally to helper. The ideas agreed on are done with the skill of Don Juan, where one expects a particular paradigm prior to ingestion, truly psychology at work. If such teachings were not given special prior consensus than interpretations would be entirely different. The whole process of teaching takes much time - years- and there are serious ritual preparations involved. The majority of the book contains diary entries, while the later is a structural analysis of the events. It is all written very well and surprising when reading the second portion how intense all the ideas really are. Now this book is the first of a series of 15 books that further these teachings. While to some the idea of speaking to a Mescalito to show one the right way, to turning into a crow or fighting off an enemy trying to take your soul may see absurd or insignificant superstition but the deeper implications of the mind here are assessed and there is a psychology that ventures in deeper plains than mere doctrinal formulations and surface meanings.

I bought both, the Mass Paperback version and the Paperback version. The Mass Paperback is as expected, a cheap version so it is small and the pages are like newspaper material, but they are all printed well and with margins on the sides, the size of the letters are small but legible, and I liked more this cover's design than the Paperback version. On the other hand, the Paperback version is also as expected, it has better quality in terms of the cover material, the pages material and the size of the letters and the book itself are a bigger than the Mass Paperback version. The only thing I didn't like so much is that the books weren't sealed on plastic, they were all without protection. However, they arrived completely safe and in excellent conditions, no marks, no sports, no anything weird. All new, all good. The Mass paperback is for me and the Paperback for a gift =)

"The Teachings of Don Juan A Yaqui Way of Knowledge" by Carlos Castaneda was a real pioneering anthropological study of shamanism, and a door-opener into the prevailing 1960's and early 1970's sub- drug culture. Carlos Castaneda gave us a new look into the possibilities of various realities and perceptions not really understood, and only discussed at late evening dinner parties, or in the dorm rooms of various colleges or, perhaps a sociology classroom here and there. For some reason, the fact that Castaneda was using drugs for research and personal understanding made the book easily more acceptable to a variety of his readers. I first read the book about 40 years ago. At the time I thought it was superb. However, upon re-reading it (at age 62), it simply didn't have the same powerful grasp it once held. The initial meeting between Castaneda and the alleged "Don Juan" is interesting reading as is the recruitment process into the shadow-world of the shaman. Naturally, there are psychotropic drugs involved, but it seemed to me that page after page, after page was nothing more of recounting his "trip" experience from the three major sources of Yaqui wisdom; Peyote, Jimson Weed, and Mushroom. The use of such drugs obviously enhances the ideas of what we today would call; "Shape shifting," Astral Projection, and various other rather well known terms in today's "witchy" terminology. Although, Mr. Castaneda followed this publication with numerous other related stories, I think he probably spent too much time and focus on the drugs for surely...there was much more knowledge passed on other than the collection, preparation, and usage of various hallucinogens. None the less, the book remains a major pioneering feat, and is interesting especially, if you are reading it for the first time. It is a contemporary real life story of "The Sourcer's Apprentice" with Carlos Castaneda playing the role of Walt Disney's "Mickey Mouse." Regardless of my somewhat prejudicial summary, there are some very good points of wisdom handed down by Don Juan that should be remembered by any generation who has an interest in anthropology, sociology, and or, just plain...entertaining reading.

Without knowing why and after nearly 30 years of first reading this book I suddenly discovered an urge to visit with Don Juan again. Carlos takes us on an entertaining journey to become a man of knowledge. As Don Juan advises you have no need to visit with Mescalito, Humito or other allies if you have the experience, or can imagine the experience. Carlos' clear narration makes it so that one has no need to visit the allies personally. I suspect if your imagination remains challenged or your adventurous side gets the best of you..... yet you won't have a guide for the journey! Here again you experience Don Juan through Carlos' descriptive narration. Don Juan teaches that to become a true man of knowledge one must overcome: 1. Fear, then 2. Clarity, that then gives them 3. Power, and finally 4. age If you wonder about Mescalito or Humito and other allies, the narrative of Carlos' journey should suffice without having to find your own man of knowledge and guide. As you read Carlos' narratives you may find yourself wondering about the veracity of what you read. As you discover the more you dive into his books he explains a reality distinct from our own. The arguments used to disprove his narratives seem unconvincing. If he were merely to have made these up then I can only stand back and marvel at his unique imagination. Yet it all seems very plausible for those that have undertaken deep spiritual meditative journeys or from talking with others who has experimented with mescaline and 'shrooms. Discussing this book with Gen X and Y folks leaves them staring at you slack-jawed as insects fly in their mouth to nibble on lunch remnants. Carlos' narrative, so widely read by Baby Boomers a long time ago and far away, has no resonation among the younger folks. So far, it seems that this partially explains their conviction that by just showing up they are ideally qualified to lead and decide. There is little questioning or wondering about the meaning of, or their perception of, reality. I bet you can't read just one of these books. Happy Travels! [...]

Nice stories

Carlos Castaneda's 'Yaqui' series are, for better and worse, in a class by themselves and one of the most enduring documents of the 60's counterculture. The case can be made that the events described in the series did not occur. However, even Castaneda's most thorough critic (Richard de Mille) is left with admitting that, if Castaneda did not actually work with Don Juan and others, that Castaneda cribbed from excellent anthropological and ethnographic sources. If one accepts that these works are, in essence, fiction, then what sort of fiction are they? The model of the work (both in structure, length and subject matter) appears to be Plato's 'Republic': an instructive dialog on the nature of reality and the proper way to live. Set aside the attempt to lionize or demonize Castaneda, to affirm or deny the 'reality' of the events described and let the work stand on its own. Is it any good? I think, the answer for many people (albeit for different reasons) is 'Yes'. It is 'true' in the same way many fictional works are true. It is 'false' in the same way that many fictional works are false. As for the quality of writing, it strives not to get in the way of the ideas, which, in a work about ideas, is a good thing. One last consideration, from this reviewer's perspective, the first three books form the core of Castaneda's Republic. 'The Teachings of Don Juan' reads like a PhD thesis (which it was) and as some other reviewers noted, somewhat dry. But it sets the stage for the real 'heart' of the series: 'Separate Reality' and 'Journey to Ixtlan'. After 'Ixtlan' the reader of the rest of the series will likely note a number of significant changes in context and, to some extent, style.