This book delves into a fascinating concept known as “the art of dreaming.”

I initially read the first hundred and forty pages, and I was truly puzzled as to how the author could simply decide to pack up and journey to Mexico in search of advice.

Subsequently, I skipped forward to the final chapters.

Overall, I firmly believe that dreams hold significant importance and have the potential to assist us in understanding far more than we currently do.

For me personally, this book deviated from my initial expectations.

While I am glad to have become more acquainted with this author’s work, I will likely wait for some time before, if at all, I decide to explore his other books.

It is essential to approach each literary work with an open mind and a willingness to embrace the unexpected.

Perhaps upon a second reading or exploration of the author’s other works, I may gain a deeper and more profound understanding of the “art of dreaming.”

Until then, I will continue to reflect on the ideas presented in this book and consider how they might apply to my own life and experiences.

Human beings, apart from their physical entities, possess an energy body. This energy is visible. By changing the point of focus, one can move between different worlds. This is a summary of the beliefs of the Mexican sorcerers (shamans) as presented in this book through the author's experiential accounts in dealing with Don Juan.

The idea of an energy body and the ability to traverse different worlds through a shift in focus is a fascinating concept within the realm of shamanic beliefs. It implies that there is more to our existence than what meets the eye and that there are hidden dimensions and possibilities waiting to be explored.

These beliefs have been passed down through generations and have been an integral part of the shamanic traditions in Mexico. The author's experiences with Don Juan provide a unique perspective on these ancient teachings and offer readers a glimpse into a world that is often overlooked or dismissed by mainstream society.

This book really stands out as it feels like it cuts to the chase a lot faster than the previous books in the series.

It presents a fun and engaging story that not only entertains but also offers practical tips for achieving lucidity in our own dreams.

The author has done a great job of making the complex topic of lucid dreaming accessible and understandable.

Whether you're a beginner or have some experience with lucid dreaming, this book has something to offer.

The practical tips provided are easy to follow and can be implemented right away.

Overall, it's a great read that combines entertainment and education in a unique way.

If you're interested in exploring the world of lucid dreaming, this book is definitely worth checking out.

Art de rêver = 7 portes.

Don Juan, a mysterious and wise figure, teaches Carlos Castaneda the art of dreaming.

According to Don Juan, one can see the world as fluxes of energy, and the perception of this energy depends on the position of the assemblage point of each individual.

This unique perspective offers not only an interesting way to view the world but also provides some clues for lucid dreaming.

Many people have found this concept quite fascinating and have been drawn to explore the art of dreaming further.

It seems that the idea of being able to control one's dreams and perceive the world in a different light has a certain allure.

Perhaps by delving deeper into the teachings of Don Juan, we can unlock the secrets of the art of dreaming and gain a new understanding of ourselves and the world around us.

I'm not entirely sure what I just read. It seemed rather confusing and perhaps a bit disjointed. The words were there, but the meaning wasn't always clear. Maybe it was because the subject matter was unfamiliar to me, or perhaps the author didn't present the information in a very organized way. I found myself having to read certain passages more than once in an attempt to make sense of it all.

Despite my confusion, I did manage to pick up on a few key points. There were some interesting ideas being discussed, but they were often buried beneath a lot of unnecessary detail. It made me wonder if the author could have presented the same information in a more concise and straightforward manner.

Overall, while I can't say I fully understood what I just read, I did come away with a sense that there was something worth exploring further. I'll have to go back and read it again, perhaps with a more critical eye, to see if I can uncover the true meaning and significance of the text.

Although this is not my type of book, as I am too practical to escape from common sense and immerse myself in an experience like that described in The Art of Dreaming, I still continued reading it. I wanted to keep my mind open, and because the descriptions themselves have a fascinating dreamlike quality. It is also tempting to believe that with sufficient concentration, your mind can control so many things, including your dreams.

The book also lacks structure. Yes, it is organized into chapters and logically takes us from the first to the fourth gate of the dream, but it simply flows as if someone were writing in a diary about things that, if not of great interest to one, simply do not have the power to keep you focused. Perhaps that was the point, with a structure similar to a diary, but for me, it was boring and it was difficult to want to continue reading the book.

However, it was worth reading The Art of Dreaming - it definitely makes you think and opens up some possibilities for those who want to explore them. Here I leave some phrases that contributed to the magic of the book, and as I write this, I wonder what "magic" could mean from the perspective of someone as practical as me :):

- "Don Juan maintained that our world, which we believe to be unique and absolute, is only one world within a group of consecutive worlds, which are arranged like the layers of an onion."

- "the second attention is a state of consciousness as illusory as flying elephants in the sky"

- Dreaming is "the art of displacing the point of embroidery [...] in order to expand and increase the range of what can be perceived"; "the art of tempering the energetic body, of making it coherent and flexible, by gradually exercising it."

- "One reaches the second gate of the dream when one wakes up from a dream into another dream"

- "Dreaming is perceiving more than what we believe possible"

- "With extreme patience, Don Juan pointed out that reason, common sense, good judgment, sources of great pride for us, because we consider them the direct consequence of our personal value, are merely the result of the fixation of the point of embroidery in its usual position."

- "Inorganic beings are like fishermen, they attract and trap consciousness."

- "The energetic body is like a child who has been a prisoner throughout its life."

- "As a result of all those years in the world of sorcerers, I had learned, without a doubt, that the only thing that exists in the universe is energy."

I read 30 pages of this book, and unfortunately, I really couldn't get into it. Neither the substance nor the writing style appealed to me.

It has a super new-agey feel to it. I suppose if that's precisely what you are seeking, then this might be a good option for you.

However, if you have a genuine interest in the psychology or the meaning of dreaming and its interpretation, then this book is not for you.

I happen to be in the latter category. I was hoping for a more in-depth exploration of the psychological aspects and a more engaging writing style that could draw me into the subject matter. But alas, this book failed to meet my expectations in both regards.

Maybe for some people, the new-agey approach might be fascinating, but for me, it just didn't click. I'll have to keep looking for a book that can truly satisfy my curiosity about the psychology and meaning of dreams.

It's truly fascinating. The questions that arise are profound. Is perception really reality? Could magick be nothing more than madness? And is there a specific point in space, time, or perception that we can reach, enabling us not only to transform our own reality but also that of others?

The sceptic within me initially wanted to brush it aside as pure nonsense. On the other hand, my spiritual side yearned to fully embrace everything and attempt to replicate the dreaming. In the end, I simply stored it away for future reference. However, it did make me wonder if his description of the assemblage point and how shifts in it can alter the way we perceive our surroundings might have any practical application. This could potentially help us understand why I and the majority of people (neurotypicals, for lack of a better term - I like to think of them as those who have been properly socialized to fit into the tiny space allotted to them in society) see the world around us so differently.

"This social base of perception is the physical certainty that the world is made of concrete objects. I call this a social base because a serious and fierce effort is put out by everybody to guide us to perceive the world the way we do."

"Our way of perceiving is a predator's way. There is another mode, the one I am familiarizing you with: the act of perceiving the essence of everything, energy itself, directly."

"What they saw that led them to conclude that perception occurs on the assemblage point was, first, that out of the millions of the universe's luminous energy filaments passing through the entire luminous ball, only a small number pass directly through the assemblage point, as would be expected since it is small compared to the whole.

Next, they saw that a spherical extra glow, slightly larger than the assemblage point, always surrounds it, greatly intensifying the luminosity of the filaments passing directly through that glow.

Finally, they observed two things. One, that the assemblage points of human beings can dislodge themselves from the spot where they are typically located. And two, that when the assemblage point is in its habitual position, perception and awareness seem to be normal, as judged by the normal behavior of the observed subjects. But when their assemblage points and surrounding glowing spheres are in a different position than the habitual one, their unusual behavior seems to be evidence that their awareness is different, that they are perceiving in an unfamiliar manner.

The conclusion the old sorcerers reached from all of this was that the greater the displacement of the assemblage point from its customary position, the more unusual the consequent behavior and, evidently, the consequent awareness and perception.

One of the strangest books I read because it describes worlds and concepts that are difficult to understand with words if they are not experienced.

The concept of "point of lace" caught my attention a lot. It immediately made me think of the movie Dr. Strange when the Astral character, with a precise hit at that point, lends energy and allows him to see other worlds...

This unique concept in the book opened up a whole new realm of imagination for me. It made me wonder about the possibilities of other dimensions and realities that might exist beyond our perception. The way it was described, with its emphasis on the importance of that specific point, added an air of mystery and intrigue. It made me want to explore further and try to understand more about how this concept could potentially work in the context of the story. Overall, it was a fascinating and thought-provoking read that left a lasting impression on me.

In this life, I have experienced very strange things.

At first, it was life itself, then consciousness, and after that, the experimentation of physical objects with all their physical laws.

Later, the objects created within this consciousness, including the mental "shadows" we make of both physical and conscious objects.

Then, the form (dance?) of how what we perceive must be "returned" to "reality" (biased by what we know of it) through our actions to continue this "sense" that has been biologically and consciously inherited by us, contributing small but very valuable things in the overall scheme, although it may not seem so at the moment.

And so, when we have this panorama (I super simplified everything, sorry) of this partial "base" reality that we all share, that's when, sometimes, things happen that, like a needle on a vinyl record, cause "anomalies" that make you doubt either reality or your sanity.

It's not pleasant or comfortable. Well, anyway, personally, thank God that the "mega-strange" things stopped happening to me before I was 18. Now, they are simple things that I don't care if they happen, and they happen about once every 5 years (either I got used to them or I stopped seeing them, I say it as a personal error).

The shamanic-nahualera things in Castaneda's books teach a lot. Here, the point that doesn't attract me much literarily or in any other way is Castaneda himself.

Well, good reading, it makes me remember things sooooooo weird... to such an extent that I can't even put them in writing. Maybe, one day, I will return to the plants at my feet, or maybe not. I just want to know what happened, where I am, and in what moment I live, although I know that's impossible because I think it doesn't depend on me.

Speaking of this, of the moment... it's incredible how the infinite total possibilities (and much more beyond...) for us, with all our moments, lived and to be lived, "controlled", "ordered", with "sense" or without it, lived by "us", or not... are embedded and "imprinted" in time (which makes everything, in our perception, emergent), individual or collective, since before matter was conscious and, in the end... all the potentials of the entire universe... uffffffff... a whole bunch of boringly redundant ideas came to my mind, but it's... just this, that's the strange thing that blows my mind if I think about it... for us, tooooodo that, can only inhabit (including "us" ourselves) there, in that... The Moment and... and it's gone! Seriously, what the hell is that, The Moment, where everything "is contained"? Is it the only thing we can be or aspire to be? To perceive it completely and where it emerges from? Is it what, apart from creation, the gods (universe) have given us since it is intrinsic to our nature, given, emergent? Does it exist?

Without this, The Moment, would there be reality for us, our reality? It could be that The Moment is an illusion, a natural consequence of our -emergent perceptual nature- (biological evolution), which, because of being, by -principles of original and ultimate order creation-, within the arrow of time, we have to inhabit and inhabit it forcefully, but... for that very reason, if I stop to think calmly, as I mentioned a while ago, perhaps the moment doesn't even exist (only exists for those who can perceive it) and that would be... I don't know what it would be but what a scare!

Why can't we inhabit two moments at the same time but we do have an infinite potential (mostly incomprehensible and inaccessible) at our disposal for this to be...? How does this work? The moment, plus the biological evolutive sensory apparatus that we have inherited, brain, consciousness, planet, ecosystems, spacetime, all kinds of networks and the universe... is everything like a nested fractal, with meaning at each level, justified by the things that inhabit at each level, of the same Total Consciousness (if you want to call it God, go ahead, I don't care) from which we come and only manifests for us in each Moment? What. Is. That?

Seriously, a moment animated by the power of the Universe lasts infinitely less than a blink... creating a moment would be as "expensive" as making a whole new universe (with its multiverses) all in perfect operation (in our perception) so that that moment is maintained and is perceptible and inhabits, in whatever this itself "inhabits" in its stability and we are in The... hummmm... to which I return... what is The Moment? Or, easier but equally incomprehensible: what is the moment for us? Do we appreciate it enough, if that's what we should do, for each moment? Or... "the kingdom was given to us" and we will never know how to love anything beyond "us" or our individuality, denying that, in truth, a whole universe is needed, perfect in Love towards our past-present-future Creation, to be able to inhabit each moment by those who have to inhabit it (preferably in Love). It seems that EVERYTHING tends to want to inhabit The Moment and stay there for as long as possible, as I said before, in Love because there is no other option... in its final consequences or final analysis. Or is it the cognitive bias of our own nature that, either it doesn't exist, or it only does so falsely for us?

This song helps me when I think about this.

Well... should we keep doing what we have always done? Build towers of Babel and cry because "they knock them down", hahahahaha, without realizing that the perfect creation is those who inhabit said Moment. But hey! there are ruins from which to learn, I suppose.

RANDOM 1

Is consciousness rarer than the moment or vice versa?

RANDOM 2

I'm misquoting this joke or astute comment but it's true, it goes something like this: "Leave large amounts of hydrogen in a universe, add billions of years and, suddenly... the hydrogen will start to contemplate itself."

RANDOM 3

It has nothing to do with any of this "review" but the anime of バケモノの子 gives a good example of Love... and of... according to me, how the left and right hemispheres of our brain work when interacting to solve (with our abilities) substantial things in the universe adjusted to our level of existence and perception.

Citations:

1.

"In the universe of energy, there are only individual beings alone surrounded by the infinite."

NOTE: This, while living, I don't know why it is seen out of the corner of the eye. Also, it's good to keep this in mind. If one transcends, we are the infinite and the infinite is making an expression of itself which is really oneself and also there is "the shadow" of what we call oneself for ourselves, a finite individual coming from the infinite.

2.

"Since its sphere is energy, the energetic body has no problem using the energy currents that exist in the universe to propel itself. All it has to do is isolate them and they will carry it away instantly."

3.

"Do you think I can return to that same city someday?

- Now that you caught me, I don't know, or maybe I do know, but I can't explain it, or maybe I can explain it but I don't want to, you'll have to wait and deduce for yourself which is the case."

4.

"For sorcerers, having life means having consciousness of being, it means having a point of fixation with their glow of consciousness. This is an indicator condition for sorcerers that the being that faces them, whether organic or inorganic, is fully capable of perceiving."

5.

"What does a friendship of that kind consist of, Don Juan?

- It consists of a mutual exchange of energy. Inorganic beings provide their superior consciousness and sorcerers provide their great energy, the positive result is a fair exchange of energy, the negative is a dependence of both parts."

6.

"- Each one is there in front of that inconceivable unknown, he said, pointing around him.

- One doesn't get away with shitty lies, those lies are for the people who don't know what is already waiting for us.

What is waiting for us, Don Juan? His answer, seemingly an innocuous phrase, seemed more terrifying to me than a description of something horrible.

- The entirely impersonal, he said."

7.

"Don Juan changed the subject and went on to explain to me in greater detail the fixation of the point of fixation.

He said that seeing the point of fixation of children constantly oscillating and easily changing place as if moved by a tremor, the ancient sorcerers came to the conclusion that their habitual position is not innate but created by habits. Also seeing that it is only in adults that this is fixed in a defined place, they supposed that the specific location of the point of fixation promotes a specific way of perceiving. As a consequence of use, this specific way of perceiving becomes a system for the interpretation of sensory data. Don Juan pointed out that for this system to exist it requires a general levy. All of us, human beings, at birth, are recruited into it and we spend a whole life imperiously adjusting our perception to conform to the demands of this system, therefore, the ancient sorcerers were right in maintaining that the act of revoking it and perceiving energy directly is what transforms a person into a sorcerer."

8.

"Don Juan expressed his admiration, again and again, for what he called the greatest achievement of our basic socialization as human beings, immobilizing our point of fixation in its habitual position. He explained that once its position is fixed our perception can be trained and directed to interpret what we perceive. Our process of socialization then begins to guide us to perceive more in terms of our system than in terms of our senses. Don Juan assured that human perception is universally homogeneous because the point of fixation of the entire human race is fixed in the same place. Don Juan said that sorcerers test all this by verifying that what is perceived has no meaning at all when the point of fixation has been displaced outside a certain level and new universal energetic filaments begin to be perceived. The reason for this is that the new filaments bring new sensory data that are not part of said system. Perceiving if our system is, of course, something chaotic, Don Juan continued, but, as strange as it may seem when we think we are really lost our system recovers and comes to our rescue, transforming our new and incomprehensible perception into a completely understandable world."

9.

"We found ourselves again in the same traffic jam as before. Does that world really exist or is it just a figment of my mind?

- Certainly we returned to the same thing, and the answer is still the same. That world really exists in the precise position where your point of fixation was at that moment. To perceive it clearly you need cohesion, you need to keep your point of fixation fixed in that new position, which you did, the result was that for a while you were able to perceive a completely new world

But could others perceive that same world?

- Yes, if they had the uniformity and cohesion that you had at that moment."

10.

"He explained that if the point of fixation is not stabilized, there is no possible way for us to perceive coherently. What we would then perceive would be a kaleidoscope of disassociated images."

NOTE: I know exactly what this is.

11.

"The feeling of having power and being unique is invincible as a corrupting force."

NOTE:

It works very well but for a long time, I have seen it as a toy for very small children although, I repeat, it works even for the old man who has his hours counted. In fact, it doesn't matter if you don't have power or are unique, that ego is powerful over our actions. Because, among its many functions, it easily but somewhat (or a lot) illusorily differentiates what "is" from what "is not", what "I want" from what "I don't want" and from there it can take control of -its being- (the place where it will inhabit). One could be Stalin, Muhammad or Jesus, it's easy to appreciate the differences between these three "by their fruits you will know them" (result of the fractal they preached and acted).

12.

The whole of chapter 7 is good, except for the part about the "blue explorer".

13.

"Forget about yourselves and you will not fear anything."

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!

I happened to pick up this book on a whim from a pile by the counter at Iliad in North Hollywood. By the way, Iliad might just be the best bookstore in LA.

I'm an engineer, and generally, I don't have much faith in New age things. However, I'm still curious enough to pick up a slender book like this or one on Zen Buddhism when it crosses my path.

You could easily dismiss this book as pure nonsense. Some of the more specific claims it makes are clearly false, and I don't believe that the events described in it actually took place in any real sense.

But I don't think this book is complete rubbish. I think some parts of it are incorrect, but it's not total nonsense. It has a certain coherence. It presents a fairly understandable and largely self-consistent description of its subject matter. Is the "assemblage point" real? No, I wouldn't say so.

And even if you want to argue that it's wrong, I'm actually not so sure you can. At the end of the day, the book talks about lucid dreaming, which is a real phenomenon. And it seems entirely possible to me that the techniques described in the book could teach you how to have lucid dreams. I plan to start looking for my hands to focus my attention while dreaming.

Another way to view this book is as a fantasy novel. Seen in that light, it's quite interesting and well-written. The protagonist's thoughts and actions feel natural and relatable.

I would be rather put off if I were to meet someone who had completely rebuilt their life based on the dreaming practices described in this book. I don't think it should be taken that seriously. But then again, that's not a standard I apply to every other book. This was an interesting read that made me think differently about what I could do while asleep, and that's not too bad at all.

What initially began as an interesting book

ultimately proved to be not very interesting at all.

At the start, the premise seemed captivating, drawing the reader in with its promise of adventure and mystery.

However, as the story progressed, it failed to maintain that level of excitement.

The characters lacked depth and development, making it difficult for the reader to truly connect with them.

The plot became predictable, with few surprises or twists to keep the reader engaged.

Despite its initial allure, the book fell short of expectations, leaving the reader feeling disappointed.

In the end, what could have been a great read turned out to be just another ordinary book.