We are taught to think about everything around us. This process helps us train our eyes to observe things in a particular way as we think about them. Often, when we look at ourselves, we already have the preconceived notion that we are important. And as a result, we feel the need to be important. However, when a person truly learns to see, they come to the realization that they can no longer simply think about the things they look at.

Once this happens, if they are unable to think about what they are looking at, everything seems to lose its importance. It's a significant shift in perception.

Moreover, we are also told that once we make a decision, we should put all our petty fears aside. Our decision should have the power to overcome those fears. It is emphasized time and time again that the most effective way to live is like a warrior. We should worry and think carefully before making any decision. But once we have made it, we should move forward without any more worries or second thoughts. There will always be a million other decisions waiting for us in the future. This is the warrior's way of life, a way that requires courage, determination, and the ability to let go of the past and embrace the future with confidence.

There is another world just beyond our reach and we only need to seek it to find it.

In the 1960s, Carlos Castaneda journeyed to Mexico with the intention of delving deeper into the Yaqui Indians and conducting some soul-searching. What he discovered was a man named don Juan, a highly powerful sorcerer and a force not to be underestimated. Don Juan completely颠覆了Castaneda的整个世界 by teaching him the ways of a sorcerer, and the outcome was some of the most beautiful and touching works of nonfiction.

In "A Separate Reality", Castaneda endeavors to explain don Juan's teachings regarding the art of'seeing'. Through the utilization of a hallucinogenic substance crafted by don Juan himself, Castaneda has visions that震撼 him to his very core.

Don Juan also expounds on the significance of becoming a warrior. A warrior is someone who is always prepared to perform at their utmost by being cognizant of every opportunity and capitalizing on it. According to don Juan, it is essential that one becomes a warrior before becoming a sorcerer.

Frequently, Castaneda finds himself in over his head. He charges into this new world with a childlike wonder that is refreshing and a curiosity that is praiseworthy. However, his curiosity appears insatiable. There seems to be no end to his pursuit of understanding the world of don Juan's sorcery, which leads him to question don Juan's teachings until they become imperceptible. Every new experience gives rise to countless questions in Castaneda's mind, and many of them are unanswerable. Don Juan seems to do his utmost to explain, and some of his explanations are truly beautiful, but at times it seems as if Castaneda is missing the point.

Throughout "A Separate Reality", I found myself questioning my own perspectives on the world. Don Juan has a knack for making you rethink nearly everything you have come to accept, and Castaneda describes his experiences with a deftness that I have seldom witnessed.

I relish Carlos Castaneda's work. His quiet prose and humble outlook resonate deeply within my heart. I empathize with Carlos in every situation that don Juan subjects him to. I almost instinctively understand his fear and confusion. There were moments in "A Separate Reality" where I found myself laughing out loud, particularly Castaneda's experiences with don Juan's friend don Genaro. There were also moments when I found myself gripped with fear, such as Castaneda's first encounter with an 'ally'. Castaneda has an incredible ability to lay his heart bare on every page.

My overall impression of "A Separate Reality" has left me longing for more. The captivating world of don Juan has inspired me. To put it in don Juan's words, once you are introduced to his world, there is no turning back as you realize there is no other way to live.

Certainly, this book is good and valuable for its fans. However, it doesn't suit my mood and taste. So I have decided to say goodbye to the second book along with Duun and Castanda. Maybe another time...

It's important to note that everyone has their own preferences when it comes to reading. Just because a book is highly regarded by others doesn't mean it will resonate with us. In this case, the author has recognized that this particular book doesn't align with their current state of mind. By making the decision to part ways with it, they are being true to themselves and their reading experience.

Perhaps in the future, when their mood or interests change, they may be more receptive to the book. Or maybe they will discover other works that better suit their needs at that time. Either way, it's all part of the journey of exploration and discovery in the world of literature.

I read this mostly in one sitting at the DMV. It was truly a world-altering read for me.

The book begins at a slow pace, but then it careens into mystical extremes by the second half. Castaneda takes on the role of the modern person, being rational, verbal, and objective. Amazingly and remarkably, he is really bad at succumbing to metaphysical experience. This is both hilarious and endearing.

Perhaps Castaneda was resisting the non-linear because he was ostensibly conducting anthropological research. In any event, this makes Castaneda a relatable foil to the winking Don Juan.

The format of the book, which consists of a series of conversations between teacher and student, is poetic. It has the potential to make a beautiful novel. The way the dialogue unfolds, it draws the reader in and makes them feel like they are part of the interaction. It's a unique and engaging way to tell a story, and it really adds to the overall charm of the book.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a thought-provoking and engaging read. It's not your typical book, but that's what makes it so special.

This was a reread from a college-assigned book.

It is a fictional yet well-written account, with some philosophy hidden beneath a mystical pretense. (Castaneda never declared it to be fictional.)

Strange as it may seem, I wish it were true, and I'm not entirely sure why. Maybe it's because we all have a longing for a different world that lies just beyond our conscious perception.

This book and the entire Yaqui Way of Knowledge appeal to the would-be mystic in us. It makes our everyday reality seem so dull and uninteresting. But in truth, it isn't.

A separate and better reality exists right here, if only we have the creative insight to perceive it and live it. This, perhaps, is the book's greatest allure for me - to discover and inhabit that separate reality, without having to rely on peyote or other substances.

This is probably the best installment in the Castaneda series.

A look into native Mexican Indian (Yaqui) spirituality by an outsider-turned-apprentice reveals a practice that involves the heavy use of psychedelic drugs, mainly peyote and mushrooms.

The book has its enjoyable moments, especially when the narrator describes his intense psychedelic experiences. Yet, overall, I didn't gain a great deal of knowledge from it. I suppose that if I were to take peyote now, I would remember not to let the green fog consume me entirely or look my ally in the eyes.

The ending was truly disappointing. After all the narrator's efforts and the reader's investment in finishing the book, the payoff was rather meager.

Nevertheless, I do believe there is some merit in Don Juan's perspective on the world. He views everything as being in a constant state of change and feels no attachment to anything. This is a profound thought that makes one reflect on the nature of existence and our relationship with the world around us.

Despite its flaws, the book offers a unique glimpse into a different spiritual tradition and way of life.

The second volume is muuuuuch more interesting than the first one.

It delves much deeper into Don Juan's teachings, providing a more comprehensive and in-depth understanding of his wisdom.

The encounters described in the second volume are also much more rich and diverse in details.

Readers are treated to a vivid and detailed account of the various situations and experiences that Don Juan and the narrator encounter.

The added details bring the story to life and make it more engaging and captivating.

Overall, the second volume is a significant improvement over the first and is sure to delight fans of the series.

It offers a more profound and immersive exploration of Don Juan's world and teachings, leaving readers eager to learn more.

Continues where the first book left off, but also returns to recall events and aspects of events not mentioned in the first book. This continuation offers a deeper exploration of the story, filling in the gaps and adding more depth to the overall narrative.

What is this thing we call "reality" anyway? Is it, as Don Juan maintains, a shared interpretation of the world, that we collectively construct and maintain through our incessant babble within our heads? This question challenges our fundamental understanding of the nature of reality. It makes us wonder if what we perceive as real is actually a product of our own minds and the collective consciousness of society.

What if we could shut the ego up for a few minutes, and suspend our auto-interpretation at the same time? Would we then perceive a different world out there? This thought experiment invites us to consider the possibility of超越 our limited perspectives and experiencing a more profound and真实的 reality. It suggests that by quieting the mind and letting go of our preconceived notions, we may be able to see the world in a new light.

Don Ginaro Tentacle

Don Ginaro Tentacle is a mysterious and fascinating entity.

It seems to exist in a realm beyond our ordinary understanding. The very name "Don Ginaro Tentacle" evokes a sense of enigma and wonder.

No one really knows where it came from or what its true purpose is. Some believe it holds great power and secrets.

Others think it might be a creation of the imagination, a figment of our collective subconscious.

Despite the lack of concrete information, the legend of Don Ginaro Tentacle continues to grow and spread.

People talk about it in hushed tones, sharing their own theories and speculations.

Some claim to have seen strange signs or manifestations that they attribute to the presence of Don Ginaro Tentacle.

Whether it is real or just a myth, one thing is for sure: Don Ginaro Tentacle has captured the human imagination and will likely continue to do so for a long time to come.

The only way to approach these books at present is to recognize that they are pure works of fiction. Back in the day, I derived a great deal of enjoyment from reading them. However, once you have opened your eyes and begun to view something with a skeptical gaze, it becomes extremely difficult, if not impossible, to simply overlook the discrepancies that exist within it.

But perhaps the most significant reason why I can no longer grant Castaneda the benefit of the doubt is that his writing is often dreadfully boring. There is an excessive amount of Castaneda's whiny narrative, with him constantly badgering Don Juan to explain this or that. While there are indeed some interesting philosophical points sprinkled throughout, on the whole, this installment in the series is rather lackluster and fails to truly engage the reader.

It's a shame, really, because the initial premise had so much potential. But as time has passed and my perspective has changed, I find myself unable to recapture the magic that I once felt when reading these books.

Castaneda books were extremely popular during my undergraduate days and when I initially began teaching in the 1970s.

I vividly remember reading all three of them, being both amused and confused. I suspect my main interest lay in the author's descriptions of his experiences with peyote.

Years have since elapsed, and after a friend's adult son passed away, I revisited "A Separate Reality". I noticed imagery and a quote from Castaneda in his artwork, which led me to think this might be an opportune time to see what I could glean from the book.

How vastly different those years of living had made in my interest and understanding! I was captivated by the student and mentor's distinct ways of perceiving the world, as well as the ongoing dialogue they have regarding the differences between mere looking and truly seeing, between an intellectual comprehension of the world and an experiential one.

This time around, I felt that Don Juan had something to impart to me, not just to Carlos, about living life with the utmost awareness, intention, and respect for death, which awaits each and every one of us.

It was a profound and eye-opening experience that made me reevaluate my own perspective on life and its many mysteries.

The second book of the Don Juan series presents some interesting developments.

Castaneda modifies the character of Don Juan a bit, making him friendlier and more jovial. He explains this by the fact that three years have passed since the first book, which ended in 1965, and this book continues in 1968. Just like in the first book, Castaneda drops hints that Don Juan is a construction, perhaps with a real person at its core but fictionalized. The endless detail in the descriptions of nature and events makes the story very realistic.

The entire theme of this series is the unreliability of our understanding of reality, and this is reflected in all the characters. During the spiritual exercises that Don Juan has the first-person character do, Castaneda always leaves the suggestion open that Don Juan or Don Genaro play an active role in the events. When the first-person character later describes certain events to Don Juan and Don Genaro, they openly laugh at him. At a certain point, Don Juan also openly deceives the first-person character by inventing a witch attack. One moment Don Juan and Don Genaro are sorcerers, the next moment they seem more like magicians. The goal is to shake the belief in the solidity of the world in all possible ways. Shadows that fly past the fire can be either moths or spirits. Later, Castaneda again brings out all his writing skills to convince the reader that the sounds, cracking branches, chirping noises, lights, and gusts of wind indeed have a supernatural meaning. And this is supported by visions during the smoking of psilocybe mushrooms. Memories of events are often revised afterwards.

This process, of mixing slightly mysterious observations in the physical reality with very mysterious ideas from the spiritual reality, is familiar to me from Discovery Channel documentaries about the yeti or sasquatch. The first-person character ("Castaneda" - in reality his name was Carlos Aranha Castaneda) must, like the reader, slowly give up his belief in a fixed reality, and Castaneda gives the reader all the time to do so; probably most readers have long since crossed over, while the first-person character in the book irritatingly keeps looking for rational explanations. Thus, Castaneda presents himself as a skeptic who, despite himself, gradually becomes convinced of the existence of other worlds. In this way, he plays the reader like a true sorcerer. In this book, it becomes especially clear how well Castaneda can write, when he describes the experience of meditative listening, when he describes a sunset, and of course in his dialogues. The true magic of this book lies in the imagination, the art of language, and the play with reality and fiction by Juan Castaneda. The ideas about a warrior, finding and binding an ally, etc., are loosely borrowed from shamanism, witchcraft, meditation, and Buddhism, from all kinds of esotericism. Castaneda does not hide his sources; for example, in this book he reads the Tibetan Book of the Dead to Don Juan. Those who are familiar with Buddhism and have practiced observing sensory perceptions will recognize much in the observations of the first-person character, but Castaneda writes it masterfully and intensifies and enlarges everything. The great merit is that Castaneda combines various sources of wisdom and his own experiences of anthropological research, makes a theory out of it that connects with his own life, disposition, and drives, and then succeeds in making a believable "true" account of it, in which the characters are lifelike and the teachings seem consistent. Meanwhile, he is not afraid to even have Don Juan, as an old man of ideas, change his fundamental teachings from the first book, for example, that one can only learn to tame the ally through the psychotropic plant. We see here that Castaneda simply adapts his teachings as it suits him and as his life circumstances change when he becomes a famous writer and more and more crazy people and hippies start bothering him. Nothing is fixed in these books, just as Castaneda also played a continuous game with fiction and reality in his private life in the USA, as is clear from other sources.