![]() ![]() Whether it be retreating to a monastery to become a master meditator or martial artist somewhere in the Far East, or descending into tangled jungle to learn to live off the earth with a hunter gatherer tribe. ![]() We’ve become somewhat accustomed to romanticised stories of “civilised” folk journeying into the great unknown with a local as their guide. ![]() Looking back on Castaneda’s story in 2021 might cause some to wince, for a few reasons. If as the reader you are able to take his account at face value, then equally one’s own preconceptions are vaporised by the power of these experiences. Jimsom weed, peyote, and various other sacred plants and blends propel this naïve anthropology student into a powerful psychic realm, infinitely multiplistic and impossible to anticipate. He writes in a rather detached, clinical style, but this only serves to amplify the impact of his accounts. ![]() Castaneda’s experiences, as he presents them, are captivating. For obvious reasons, the former is of more interest to the general reader. The second attempts to take a structural approach to his teachings. It is broken up into two sections, the first detailing Castaneda’s experiences and his long conversations with Don Juan. The book is presented as the consolidation of many pages of “field notes” which Castaneda took while conversing with Don Juan. The first in a series of books detailing his experiences with the shaman Don Juan, ‘The Teachings of Don Juan: a Yaqui Way of Knowledge’ is a fascinating exploration of altered states of consciousness. ![]()
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