Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
148 of 161 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Beginning of a Journey You Will Never, Ever Forget..., October 22, 2000
"The Teachings of Don Juan" is the first in a series of about 15 books by Carlos Casaneda describing the author's experiences with Yaqui Indian shamanism in Northern Mexico. As a studier of religion for many years (although not as knowledgeable as some scholars) I find these books to be utterly unique in their scope and subject matter. They are not like other New Age books. The journey that Castaneda takes his readers is mind-boggling, and his experiences are simply beyond what most people have even remotely encountered.Castaneda first met Don Juan in the early 60's, before the hippy movement, before psychodelic drugs became popular. He was studying anthropology in Los Angeles, and Don Juan served as a field source for some fading knowledge of tribal and shamanistic rituals in Northern Mexico. Castaneda was specifically interested in peyote, a plant that gives its users hallicinations and mixes the senses in strange ways, and which LSD was meant to be a chemical reproduction of. Castaneda's first book presents a very detailed scholastic interpretation of his experiences. All books after the first simply focus on Castaneda's experiences with Don Juan. Castaneda's drug experiences are different from other accounts I have read, because they are intimately tied with the Yaqui philosophy and mythology. The drugs only serve as a means to an end, not as the end in themselves. The first 2 books in the series describe Castaneda's drugs experiences with Don Juan, but from the 3rd book on, the drugs disappear forever and Carlos' experiences are actually more fantastic, more amazing, more unbelieveable as he slowly becomes a practicing sorceror, traveling to alternate dimensions and battling other sorcerors. Many of the books seem to reach a definitive conclusion, only to have Castaneda's perceived understanding of Don Juan's teachings completely destroyed in the next volume. Again these experiences do not in any way compare to magic and sorcery you might find in pagan, christian, or celtic mythology, nor does the "world-philosophy" of Don Juan resemble in any way the wholistic ideals of Eastern religions like Hinduism or Buddhism. How can you describe things most people have never seen before? Castaneda does a good job, considering the fantastic nature of some of his journeys. However, while the visions and magical feats are mesmerizing to read, I often found that Don Juan gave his most profound knowledge while simply talking to Castaneda. Do to its subject matter, most Christians will find these books offensive, but I promise you that nothing in any of these volumes will turn you onto the path of Satan :) There is a certain participation required from the reader - Castaneda repeatedly affirms that everything he has ever written is absolutely true, but intelligent readers will be constantly wondering if such fantastic things could possibly exist. By turning off this little nagging "naysayer" in my own head and allowing myself to simply sink into the mood of the work and believe, I found that I was better able to intuitively understand the very abstract concepts that overwhelm you. However, because these accounts are SO unbelieveable, SO fantastic, SO unlike our everyday life here in the US, I found that I never confused my world with Castaneda's. It's like reading a book about walking on the Moon - you can understand and appreciate what it must have been like, but you don't start wearing a spacesuit to work!
|
|
22 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Shamans Consciousness, October 25, 2000
This Book allow you to connect to an ancient Indian Shaman collection of 'extreme knowledge into nature'a captivating and enthraling reading. You will walk through the writer's experiences of altered realities, and other dimentions, a confrontational, sometimes frightful journey. Through The writer Carlos learns to be masterful and have "intention" in all he does in his life. When he comes back to California he cannot leave his Shaman life behind. I unintentionally found this book to be psycologically powerful for me. My life has changed by not acepting less than full intention in all that I do. I own a metaphysical healing store in La Habra and bring the power of Carlos Castanada writings here every day. The story goes something like this: A young student Carlos Costanada, goes to Mexico to meet an old Indian man who knows about medicinal & hallucinogenic plants. Carols doesen't really like him at first. Their relationship develops into Shaman and apprentice. Carlos doesn't choose to be Don Yuan's apprentice. He is there to take notes, and to study all he can for his degree. For aproximently 10 years Carlos unites with The Shaman and goes through intrepid and exhilarating experiences, beyond his scholarly responsibilities. A brimming study of What it means to be on the path of a Shamans apprentice. Is it true? Carlos says it is. First you must read all the books. The first one, is the only one where there are drug induced rituals. Don Yuan explains this is needed for Carlos because of his 'limited western mind's ability to see another reality'. This is one of the controversies about the book. Perfectly written.
|
|
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Excellent and Entertaining Book, April 4, 2002
I enjoy Carlos Castaneda's books because they always offer an escape from reality -- in this case, I mean that quite literally. Castaneda's books involve an age-old technique of storytelling, the teaching of a body of knowledge from a master to a pupil. In this case, the master, a Yaqui Indian known as Don Juan, teaches the ancient Toltec art of sorcery to a young, first-person narrator, Carlos Castaneda. This narrator is dubious and incredulous as Don Juan shows him things about the nature of reality and our perceptions of it, but increasingly he has to conclude that the world of Don Juan is an accurate description of the may facets of reality, and our modern world is merely one narrow view. There is controversy over whether Castaneda's books are "real" --Castaneda was granted a PhD for his "field" work; but other scholars have found a lot of Castaneda's research to have no anthropological authenticity. Supporters of Castaneda dispute this. That there is even an argument over whether the books are "real" or not indicates how good the stories are -- like the world of J.R.R. Tolkien, people really, desperately want to visit Castaneda's world. His books are riveting, fascinating, beautiful, and also very scary. Although later books in the series (Tales of Power, for instance) are better than this introductory work; I think it is important to read the books in their order of writing, in order to get the "lessons" that Castaneda learns in the correct order. I am a great fan of the books, even if they are 100% fiction. But one is really just never sure if they are. . .
|
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A bood for a twenty-something today
I read Don Juan when he first hit the scene. I found that my 20-something nephew-in-law informed me he was into metaphysical things and so I bought him this intro to Don Juan to...
Published 1 day ago by Peter M. Flannery
|
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Foundational Wisdom Book for All Seekers
Every Seeker has at some point experienced an unexplainable moment. These are great opportunities to expand your perceptions to begin to believe in something greater then yourself...
Published 4 days ago by Pamela Wells
|
1.0 out of 5 stars
Fraud matters
I'm doing my bit to bring down the average rating for Castaneda's book because I think that science and scholarship require rigorous honesty with both others and oneself, and...
Published 12 days ago by Winter Maiden
|
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Teachings of Don Juan
The book arrived when it was supposed to, I didn't have to wait long or wonder where it was. It arrived in excellent condition, thank you.
Published 1 month ago by K. Norris
|
5.0 out of 5 stars
1st one in the Series
Im not really objective about CC's writings, my goal is rather to tell you what I have come to value in his writings over the years.
Published 1 month ago by Igor Lurye
|
3.0 out of 5 stars
An ordinary book about non-ordinary reality
Castaneda's writing about his drug experience is dramatic and well-written, regardless of whether it's fiction or fact.
Published 2 months ago by T. Harris
|
1.0 out of 5 stars
wrong item
I ordered a collectible hardback and received a poor quality softback instead, right before christmas.
Published 8 months ago by David Allen
|
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very Unique Read
This is a unique story of a man's path to knowledge through the use of hallucinates. It's a classic that any open-minded reader will enjoy.
Published 10 months ago by M. J. Clarke
|
5.0 out of 5 stars
Can't Be Beat
I have read half of Castaneda's books, and I feel the first 4 are very very good. Honestly the 5th kind of lost my attention for some reason.
Published 11 months ago by Ghost
|
3.0 out of 5 stars
Entertaining but false
Having read several of Castanedas books and been strongly influenced by them as a youth, it was with great sadness that I subsequently found them to be almost completely...
Published 11 months ago by B. CROWLEY
|
|