The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way Of Knowledge

A classic. Don’t bother with the rest of his books.

Just Read it and See the difference in your thoughts.

It will take you on a magical journey. The writing is memsmerazing.

Great Book.

Carlos Castaneda .. intelligent word mixed with creativity power ..happy to have the teachings full of inspiration ..

This is one of rare tantra or shamanic tradition book which doesn't even mentions sex magic or some crackpot new age theories, rather its a simple narrative of a man seeking knowledge from a ancient tradition. Really lucid and well written. One can easily connect with both the characters. I loved reading it and have infact purchased it in all the 8 books in the series over last 10 years, after borrowing it once from a friend.

pages are utterly yellow. which means it's an old print lying unsold for years!

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.

Nowadays we know that Castaneda made Don Juan up. Still, these lessons are timeless. It's a worthwhile read. This is the first book in a 12 book series. I recommend also reading book 3 "Journey to Ixtlan". In my oppinion the best one in the series, but it makes more sense if you read this one first. Happy reading!

Life changing book.

Quer um livro para mudar abalar a sua base? Pegue essel livro, ele vai te abrir o olho para o impossivel!

This book is well written and packed with wisdom, an ideal read for those interested in learning how to live. One may reach a crossroads in life when the question comes 'what is the point of it all?'. How we answer changes everything from then on. Conclusions of 'there is no point' or 'to feel good' are most common, the first of which can lead to a very dark place indeed. Don Juan's approach is to say- no single thing matters, everything is equally important. That feeling good is valid, when your pleasure is gained from 'walking the path with a heart'; act from love and compassion, gain satisfaction from living the right way. A central concept of this book is that our perception of life is the root of our actions - we act upon what we see. Therefor, a fitting start to our endeavours is gaining True Sight, learning the influencing factors which negatively affect how we see - the main culprit being Fear. Look around and you will see how fear guides people: fear of being ugly, fear of being uncool, fear of our sexuality, fear of being poor, fear of death, loneliness. When we liberate ourselves from this we take the first step back to free choice, opening pathways to the Right things we were too scared to do before; with Faith in the light of Love and Truth. These books will enrich your life, showing a new way to see or affirming what you've already learned ~ spread the word.