Merely A First Step towards Being a Man of Knowledge - Rated 
I first read this book a few months ago before reading the rest of the series, and it was a mind-blowing read.
"Teachings of Don Juan" is the first of many books by anthropologist Carlos Castaneda to which he revealed his teacher-student relationship and experiences with Yaqui Sorcerer by the name of Don Juan. The dialogues and experiences lay within this book are rather insightful read.
This book is merely a starting point where readers begin to understand the warrior's way and how one would understand one's perceptions of the world and how they can be deceiving. The plants or substances discussed in this book is not the means nor the ends, but merely just a tool, rarely used, in order to shock the author to see what lies beyond and around himself. Merely a step towards being a "man of knowledge."
Remarkably, as I read through the series, I cannot help but wonder who Don Juan really was and where the sources came from. I recently found the answers to these questions in William Patterson's "The Life & Teachings of Carlos Castaneda," which is a new profound perspective of the life of Castaneda and his work.
The Teachings Of Don Juan - Rated 
This is the first item i've ever given one star to and I know i'm going to get slated as so many other reviewers here rave about it. I'm sorry to say it has many faults. I feel it is poorly written and has little to keep you engaged. You get no real feel for the main people in the book and the constant questioning of Don Juan that is refused an answer, or that receives some pseudo spiritual response, is extremely tedious. The hallucinogenic visions are uninspiring to read and the interpretations are spurious. The second half that attempts to analyse the 'lessons' from the experiences is jargon laden and tries to be too clever. As a text explaining various Yaqui rituals it has some merit, and it's explanations of drug preparation is fairly clear, but you can get this information online without trawling through such uninspiring dross. I have read many, many books of a spiritual nature, as well as many books on a variety of topics, as my varied and extensive reviews will illustrate, and I'm really sad to have given a book so highly praised by others such a low review, but I really disliked this book and felt it has very little to offer in terms of spiritual message. Easier reads, with clearer messages are out there (The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, or Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman to name two mainstream books and a whole host of more in-depth and meaningful books) and this book only serves to muddy what should be ones clear path to deeper spiritual growth. I can only apologise to those who love and gained some form of enlightenment from it!!!
An Entertaining Fabrication - Rated
Carlos Casteneda was a great novelist. I bought and enjoyed almost all of his published works in the full knowledge that they were fiction. It's almost impossible to believe now but there was a time when some gullible people, laymen and academics, were fooled into believing that Don Juan, Don Genaro, Silvio Manuel etc., were real people rather than inventions made by a highly imaginative writer. Much the same thing happened with Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code et al, i.e., credulous people attributing authenticity to a purely fictional fabrication. If you haven't read any of Casteneda's work I would recommend his novels strongly, for purposes of entertainment of course, in the same way I would recommend other works of fantasy by Guy Gavriel Kay or Phillip Pullman for example. Casteneda is a much better writer than J.K.Rowling and Don Juan a much more interesting character than Harry Potter!
Reality is a Mystery - Rated
These books are a must read for those who wish to explore reality. Carlos Castaneda becomes the apprentice of Don Juan Matus, a Yaqui Indian sorcerer who uses hallucinogenic drugs to alter Castaneda's state of consciousness. You will find that the accounts of Castaneda's experiences stir your imagination into fabulous activity. Don Juan also gives his apprentice oral teachings, which replace the narcotics after the first two books. He tells him that man has four natural enemies (fear, clarity, power and tiredness) and that the key question in sorcery is "Does this path have a heart?". Can sorcerers transform themselves into animals? My own observations would suggest that this is possible but I haven't achieved it fully myself. I would reccomend all of Castaneda's works to anyone who wants to live with feeling, intensity and beauty.
"He must have Balls of Steel" - Rated
Carlos Castaneda could have written this book as a Science Fiction piece, if that is the case, then it’s a fantastic read, it beats Harry Potter hands down. If you are the kind of person who likes their books to thought provoking then this book will not fail to enthral you. Carlos Castaneda’s approach to Don Juan Matus concerning his study of Anthropology leads him into a very long, dark period filled with fear and anxiety, But the well detailed accounts of pleasing Sights, Sounds and Feeling Castaneda writes of seems for him to be enough to sway the vote of whether he does sorcery or not. I was left in no doubt that I don’t want to be a sorcerer but could not put the book down, or the second and the third. A brilliant balance of both Light and Dark, Usually Don Juan seeing the lighter side of Carlos' darker moments. A wonderful journey through the more mystic side of life, with a view of the thoughts and philosophy of two fantastic minds.
|
