Sense of live

Carlos Castaneda

The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge was published by the University of California Press in 1968 as a work of anthropology. It was written by Castaneda and submitted as his master’s thesis in the anthropology. It reportedly documents the events that took place during an apprenticeship he claimed to have served with a self-proclaimed Yaqui Indian Sorcerer, don Juan Matus, between 1960 and 1965. The authenticity of the book, has been a topic of debate since they were published. The book is divided into two sections. The first section, The Teachings, is a first person narrative that documents Castaneda’s initial interactions with don Juan. The second, A Structural Analysis, is an attempt, Castaneda says, at “disclosing the internal cohesion and the cogency of don Juan’s Teachings.” The 30th anniversary edition, contains commentary by Castaneda not present in the original edition. In addition, it contains a foreword by anthropologist Walter Goldschmidt, who was a professor of anthropology at UCLA during the time the books were written, and an introduction by the author.

From en.wikipedia.org

Carlos Castaneda, under the tutelage of don Juan (Yaqui Indian Sorcerer), takes us through that moment of twilight, through that crack in the universe between daylight and dark into a world not merely other than our own, but of an entirely different order of reality. Anthropology has taught us that the world is differently defined in different places. Don Juan has shown us glimpses of the world of a Yaqui Indian sorcerer and Carlos Castaneda presents it in such a way that enables us to apprehend it with a reality that is utterly different from our own. This is the special virtue of this work. Carlos Castaneda asserts that this world has its own inner logic. He explains it from inside, as it were – from within his own rich and intensely personal experiences while under don Juan?s tutelage – rather than to examine it in terms of our logic. Through this experience, Castaneda leads us to understand that our own world is a cultural construct and from the perception of other worlds, we see our own for what it is.

From castaneda.com

Books of Carlos Castaneda

Carlos Castaneda