The Teachings of Don Juan

I've been thinking about Carlos Castañeda for some time now. And, as the universe would have it, I found four of his books at Half-Price for $2 each. Unfortunately, the first book, The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge, was not amongst them, but good news, the Louisville Free Public Library had a copy. A copy. And I've been having a go at it. 

It's pretty fascinating reading. I know that Castañeda has been discredited by some (maybe most...possibly all) credable scholars, but hey...I like it, like it, yes I do. At some point I'll read a critique or two, but right now I'm just enjoying the story of an American fellow who encounters a Yaqui Indian and is taught to be a shaman. 

Speaking of, the first description of CC taking peyote was kind of hilarious. Short version: CC thought he was playing with a dog which was showing some pretty mystical effects, but the next day he was informed that he had been chasing a dog, which was running away from him because he was naked and pissing on the dog. (Later the dog got revenge and pissed on him.) The Yaqui who were with him for this first journey--including don Juan--laughed their asses off as they told him about this "adventure."

I'm enjoying this read.

Unfortunately and perhaps ironically, I only have until the 21st to read it, because someone else has requested it and thus I can't renew it. But I'm confident I can knock it out before the bell tolls for me.

Meanwhile....

"...the need of every civilized person [is] to maintain the boundaries of the known world." (xv)

"The shamans of don Juan's lineage saw that the essential condition of animate energy, organic or inorganic, is to turn energy in the universe at large into sensory data. In the case of organic beings, this sensory data is then turned into a system of interpretation in which energy at large is classified and a given response is allotted to each classification, whatever the classification may be. The assertion of sorcerers is that in the realm of inorganic beings, the sensory data into which energy at large is transformed by the inorganic beings , must be, by definition, interpreted by them in whatever incomprehensible form they may do it." (xvi)

Buena mierda, right?

Well, you know how I am: in for a penny, in for a pound. So here's the Complete List of the don Juan books:

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. 

Tales of Power, 1974. 

The Second Ring of Power, 1977. 

The Eagle's Gift, 1981. 

The Fire From Within, 1984. 

The Power of Silence: Further Lessons of Don Juan, 1987. 

The Art of Dreaming, 1993. 

Magical Passes: The Practical Wisdom of the Shamans of Ancient Mexico, 1998. 

The Wheel of Time: Shamans of Ancient Mexico, Their Thoughts About Life, Death and the Universe, 1998.  (Selected quotations from the first eight books.)

The Active Side of Infinity, 1999. (Memorable events of his life.)

Underline means I've got a physical copy. There's five because Thrift Books just sent me a message saying I had earned a free book, so I spent it on the second book in the series.

So off we go.

1/5/25: This kind of sums it up in a Butch Cassidy & Sundance Kid kind of way:

"Are you going to use witchcraft?" I asked with great expectations. "Don't be silly, no witchcraft would ever work on her." (39)

Carlos was talking about something and don Juan turned away. Carlos was worried, and asked don Juan if he was angry at him. 

"No! I'm never angry at anybody! No human being can do anything important enough for that! You get angry at people when you feel that their acts are important. I don't feel that way any longer." (43) 

Good philosophy (and very Zen), but I wonder about those exclamation points.

Don Juan is showing Carlos how to prepare the ingredients for "a smoke." The details are excruciatingly complex, and when Carlos asks how long it takes for the ingredients to be ready, don Juan tells him "a year." Talk about commitment.

These guys might be crazy, but they're not fucking around.