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A Separate Reality: Conversations with Don Juan Audio CD – August 12, 2010
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With The Teachings of Don Juan, Carlos Castaneda chronicled a journey of enlightenment under the tutelage of Yaqui Indian guru don Juan. Having sold more than eight million copies of his books around the world, Castaneda inspires countless readers with his rich and awareness-expanding experiences.
After spending five years with Don Juan in the early 60s, Castaneda returned to Mexico in 1968 to continue his exploration of non-ordinary reality and draw ever closer to his ultimate goal of becoming a man of knowledge. Far from Western civilization, Don Juan and his world of hallucinogenic drugs offer insight and inducements toward true awakening -- wisdom that Castaneda passes on in this astounding work.
- Print length1 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherRecorded Books, Inc. and Blackstone Publishing
- Publication dateAugust 12, 2010
- ISBN-101664502572
- ISBN-13978-1664502574
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Editorial Reviews
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''In A Separate Reality [Castaneda's] adventure dramatically broadens to disclose in the trampled culture of the American Indian a secret spiritual tradition that produces men of profound character and eerie psychological powers.'' --Life
''In this book, Castaneda's reportage is more subjective, his descriptions of tutelage under don Juan are more vivid and his experiences are even more amazing.'' --Los Angeles Times
About the Author
Carlos Castaneda (1925-1998) was an American author with a doctorate in anthropology. He wrote many bestselling books on shamanism, beginning with The Teachings of Don Juan. He wrote a total of fifteen books, which sold millions of copies worldwide and were published in seventeen different languages. In his writings, he describes the teaching of Don Juan, a Yaqui sorcerer and shaman. His works helped define the 1960s and usher in the New Age movement.
Product details
- Publisher : Recorded Books, Inc. and Blackstone Publishing; Unabridged edition (August 12, 2010)
- Language : English
- Audio CD : 1 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1664502572
- ISBN-13 : 978-1664502574
- Best Sellers Rank: #4,773,884 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #29,194 in Books on CD
- #437,561 in Health, Fitness & Dieting (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Born in 1925 in Peru, anthropologist Carlos Castaneda wrote a total of 15 books, which sold 8 million copies worldwide and were published in 17 different languages. In his writing, Castaneda describes the teaching of Don Juan, a Yaqui sorcerer and shaman. His works helped define the 1960's and usher in the New Age movement. Even after his mysterious death in California in1998, his books continue to inspire and influence his many devoted fans.
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Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2018
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"Once a man learns how to "see" he finds himself alone in the world with nothing but folly." p. 81 Anotherwards, all the world is a stage and everything we do are roles we act. We don't leave the world as a hermit because we don't willfully abandon ourselves, but instead we recognize the superficial roles we are required to play as human beings and in turn, rest in our silent self, the silent observer who "sees" this world as a series of necessary folly and superficiality and learns to to limit mental chatter, thinking and rationalizing and to start listening.
This book reminds me of Timothy Leary's explanation of reimprinting. Each time one "trips," he takes a trip beyond static reality to the dynamic flow and each time he returns he takes an additional snapshot and reimprints as a baby does when born. Each imprint is added to the previous imprints, as well as reinterpreting former imprints. And so, when Don Juan uses the power of suggestions with Carlos Castaneda and consensus is agreed, the dynamic affect under hallucinogens conform to such ideas which are compounded during the reimprinting stages back to normal reality. And so, peyote consists of an entity called Mescalito and magic mushroom smoke produces encounters with allies.
In turn, as with many Eastern mediators, the awareness grows of the silent observer self beyond the superficial ego self we are required to live through as human beings. We see the folly of human existence and become detached while simultaneously maintaining our lives active in this world, not in inertia, but with the paradox of "seeing" our real silent witness selves and using our superficial roles with more artistic and less attachment.
One learns to act like a warrior by acting, not by talking." p 144 "If a man sees he doesn't have to live like a warrior, or like anything else, for he can see things as they really are and direct his life accordingly." p 149 "Seeing dispelled the illusion of victory, or defeat, or suffering." p. 138 "Nothing of what I had done in my lie was really worthy of that last ultimate emphasis so I had nothing to think about. That was an exquisite realization." p. 243"Worry and think before you make a decision, but once you make it, be on your way free from worries or thoughts . . that's the warrior way." p. 47 Don Juan teaches learning how not to think, silencing the mind and learning to listen.
I also enjoyed how Don Juan considered much of the Tibetan Book of The Dead as "crap." And yet, one can say the same thing about his Yaqui Indian Sorcerer interpretation of non-ordinary reality. Yet both paradigms, Tibetan and Yaqui acknowledge the silent observer, the mental chatter, and the need to listen without fear in reality of clarity beyond mental conceptions.
The messages are philosophical (the whole gamut--ethics, methods to reality(ies) including most prevelantly, meditation) and religious, presented in amazing discourse. I first read these books as they came out in the early 1970s. Since then, they have totally altered my life-view, and the love affair and marriage I now have with this sacred life and the Sacred Earth and Sky. Totally changed me, for the better.
And I have tried and tried to figure out the source or sources for what Mr. (Dr.) Castañeda consulted to create these master works. No matter what else he was (a real bum and a fraud are often heard), he did the world of men a favor by creating these first four books.
I think the sources are mainly Daoist, and mainly the older books such as the Nei, Tao-Tsang, Chuang-Tzu, and others. Amazingly, I'm still learning! Join me--there is so much to learn about the sacredness of Everything.
Top reviews from other countries

It is almost as though Castaneda is drawn by some hidden other self into another reality one that Don Juan is cognisant of and is equally compelled to show.
There are many more encounters in a 7 book series and I am looking forward to reading them all.
I read this in the Kindle version

I that regard do not and cannot recommend taking drugs, but in a historical context many if not most civilizations have accomodated their use and invented ceremonies and rituals and care provisions to ensure greater safety for users, or should I say 'seekers', for in most instances they were used in pursuit of truth and knowledge or 'Enlightenment' rather than taken for pleasure.
I do not believe Casteneda's writings are The Answer, but they are now classic literature and in reading them one will at least become conversant with one perspective, like one language among the many. Hope this helps?

The best is path of silent knowledge
And this is more of an entry level
And being on kindle makes it so easy to read


I really enjoy reading these series of books, they go far deeper to answering the questions about our purpose than anything else that I have ever read.