Yaki Indian Rites & Religous beliefs (Carlos Castaneda)

I came across the books by Carlos Castaneda through a quote I found in David Icke, David Icke:

After I came across this passage I thought I should check out this Carlos Castaneda guy, and I was never sorry for doing so.

The books, The Teachings of Don Juan, The Active Side of Infinity and A Separate Reality are simply mind bending.


One of the interesting things that Don Jaun teaches is that medicinal plants carry a spirit; many of his teachings could be applied to Cannabis as well.

 

That is an interesting take on things. However it would seem as our masters are currently in charge, and this flaw in our genome is still being exploited.

It should also be noted that in this quote Don Juan explicitly states that this is a present tense statement.

Yesterday I was doing a little bit more reading about carlos castaneda, and I found that he died only fairly recently in 1998.

Castaneda wrote twelve books and several academic articles detailing his experiences with a Yaqui Indian from Central Mexico. His first three books, The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge, A Separate Reality and Journey to Ixtlan were written while Castaneda was an anthropology student at UCLA. Castaneda wrote these books as if they were his research log describing his apprenticeship with a traditional "Man of Knowledge" identified as don Juan Matus. Castaneda was awarded his bachelor's and doctoral degrees for the work described in these books.

Eventually Carlos and don Juan created a entire series of books, and broke them up into sections corresponding to a Toltec mastery: the mastery of Awareness, the mastery of Stalking, and the mastery of Intent.
The Mastery of Awareness

The Mastery of Awareness entails the re-emphasis of awareness from the world of the tonal (every day objects) to the world of the nagual (spirit). During this stage of development the warrior-traveler endeavors to minimize self importance, and to find and store power. First and foremost, the student is encouraged to take action and assume responsibility for her or his life.

• The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge (1968)
• A Separate Reality: Further Conversations with Don Juan (1971)
• Journey to Ixtlan: The Lessons of Don Juan (1972)
• Magical Passes: The Practical Wisdom of the Shamans of Ancient Mexico (compilation) (1998)

The Mastery of Stalking

During The Mastery of Stalking the warrior-traveler endeavors to cleanse and retrieve energy and to hone his only link to spirit, the intuition. The warrior-traveler becomes impeccable by empirically testing this connection and eventually banishing all doubts, accepting her or his fate, and committing to follow a path with heart.

• Tales of Power (1975)
• The Second Ring of Power (1977)
• The Eagle's Gift (1981)
• The Active Side of Infinity (compilation) (1999)

The Mastery of Intent

Mastery of Intent – Once the warrior-traveler has accumulated enough surplus energy, enough personal power, the dormant second attention is activated. Dreaming becomes possible. The warrior-traveler maintains impeccability, walks the path with heart, and waits for an opening to freedom.

• The Fire from Within (1984)
• The Power of Silence: Further Lessons of Don Juan (1987)
• The Art of Dreaming (1993)
• The Wheel Of Time : The Shamans Of Mexico (compilation)(2000)

Main Ideas

Castaneda's works elucidate the mystical world view expounded by Don Juan Matus. The appeal of Don Juan's philosophy might be summed up in a quote by Don Juan from Castaneda's first book, The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge:

For me there is only the traveling on the paths that have heart, on any path that may have heart. There I travel, and the only worthwhile challenge for me is to traverse its full length. And there I travel-looking, looking, breathlessly.
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Don Juan's teachings are reminiscent of various mystical traditions and supernatural beliefs, and include many practices that purport to focus one's energy and awareness into a "second attention," leading to higher consciousness and views of non-ordinary reality outside the bounds of everyday reality. In The Art of Dreaming, Castaneda wrote that Don Juan contended that our ordinary world –

...which we believe to be unique and absolute, is only one in a cluster of consecutive worlds, arranged like the layers of an onion. He asserted that even though we have been energetically conditioned to perceive solely our world, we still have the capability of entering into those other realms, which are as real, unique, absolute, and engulfing as our own world is. (viii)
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According to Castaneda, the most significant fact in a person's life is one's dormant awareness. The primary goal of a warrior (also warrior-traveler) is to elevate awareness. To increase awareness in this way requires all of the discipline that constitutes a "warrior's" way of life. Don Juan often used a warrior metaphor, and he told Castaneda on August 20 1961, "A man goes to knowledge as he goes to war, wide awake, with fear, with respect, and with absolute assurance. Going to knowledge or going to war in any other manner is a mistake, and whoever makes it will live to regret his steps" (The Teachings of Don Juan, 43).