Don Juan Matus

The Active Side of Infinity – Journeys Through the Dark Sea Of Awareness

Ancient Cycle, Authors, Carlos Castaneda, The Active side of Infinity / By / 19 minutes of reading

In this chapter, don Juan clarifies that Castaneda’s previous “dream-fantasy” of meeting him in town was, in sorcery terms, a real “journey through the dark sea of awareness,” made possible by his accrued inner silence. He distinguishes this from “dreaming,” which he redefines as the art of deliberately displacing the assemblage point to perceive other worlds. After Castaneda recounts a memory of “seeing” a sleeping person’s assemblage point shift, don Juan prompts him to undertake a deliberate journey. From a state of inner silence, Castaneda finds himself transported with don Juan to a hostile Yaqui town where he can suddenly understand their language, not word by word, but in patterns of thought. He then finds himself in another town, where he perceives people not as luminous eggs, but as strange, insectlike cores of geometric shapes with a stringlike filament on top. After these inexplicable journeys, don Juan explains that this is what inner silence does: it breaks the continuity of time and allows one to travel through the dark sea of awareness, guided by the force of intent.

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The Active Side of Infinity – Inorganic Awareness

Ancient Cycle, Authors, Carlos Castaneda, The Active side of Infinity / By / 21 minutes of reading

In this chapter, don Juan reveals that he is the leader of a group of fifteen sorcerers and did not actually live in the shack where they first met. He then introduces Castaneda to the concept of “inorganic awareness.” He explains that our world is a twin world, coexisting with a complementary world populated by “inorganic beings”—entities that possess awareness but no organism. He further classifies these beings, distinguishing between the “first cousins” from our twin world and the “scouts” or “explorers” from the depths of the universe, some of whom sorcerers call “allies.” To give Castaneda a direct experience, don Juan guides him on another journey from inner silence. In the Sonoran desert, Castaneda meets two beings who identify themselves as his allies. By staring at them, he is able to see past their humanlike appearance to their true form: vibrating, shapeless blobs of luminosity. Don Juan explains this is seeing energy directly, and that our normal cognition limits our perception by interpreting everything. He instructs Castaneda to henceforth gaze at any apparition with an inflexible attitude to see its true energetic nature.

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The Active Side of Infinity – The Clear View

Ancient Cycle, Authors, Carlos Castaneda, The Active side of Infinity / By / 22 minutes of reading

In this final chapter of the book, Castaneda finds himself in a quandary, unable to deal with the world of everyday people after being influenced by don Juan. His new perception causes him to judge everyone by don Juan’s standards of impeccability, leading to a crisis in his academic and personal life. He recounts his experiences with a kind but passive boss, Ernest Lipton, whose helplessness reminds him of his own father, forcing him to quit his job. Don Juan advises him that the issue is not with others but with his own “self-reflection,” and that the challenge is to accept people as they are. The climax occurs one day on the UCLA campus when Castaneda is overcome by a strange tremor, loses his normal sight, and for the first time, consciously “sees” energy directly—perceiving people as luminous, furry spheres. He has the shocking realization that he has always perceived energy this way but was never aware of it. The experience ends with him inexplicably waking up in his apartment miles away. Don Juan confirms that he “stopped the world,” traveled from inner silence, and experienced “the clear view” or “losing the human form,” where human pettiness vanishes, leaving him with the maddening question of what had prevented him from accessing this perception all his life.

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The Active Side of Infinity – Mud Shadows

Ancient Cycle, Authors, Carlos Castaneda, The Active side of Infinity / By / 32 minutes of reading

In this chapter, don Juan introduces Castaneda to what he calls the “topic of topics”: a predator from the depths of the cosmos that has taken over the rule of human lives. He explains that sorcerers can see these beings as fleeting, dark shadows, which he encourages Castaneda to perceive. According to don Juan, these predators, or “flyers,” consume the “glowing coat of awareness” that surrounds human beings, leaving only a narrow fringe which is the epicenter of our self-reflection. They keep humans docile and weak by giving us their mind—a foreign installation filled with contradiction, greed, and cowardice—and then feeding on the flares of awareness produced by our inane, self-absorbed problems. Don Juan states that the only deterrent is discipline, which makes a sorcerer’s awareness unpalatable. The ultimate goal is to tax the “flyer’s mind” with inner silence until it flees permanently. To give Castaneda a direct experience, don Juan guides him to “see” a flyer from a state of inner silence, resulting in a terrifying encounter with a gigantic, leaping “mud shadow” that leaves Castaneda physically and emotionally shattered, weeping for the helplessness of mankind.

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Author’s Note – The Art of Dreaming

Ancient Cycle, Authors, Carlos Castaneda, The Art of Dreaming / By / 8 minutes of reading

In this introductory note, Carlos Castaneda clarifies his use of the term “sorcery” to describe the teachings of his mentor, don Juan Matus, distinguishing it from conventional definitions. He explains that for don Juan, sorcery is about manipulating perception to access other real worlds, a practice called “the art of dreaming.” Castaneda recounts his own experiences learning this art, his interactions with two distinct groups of apprentices, and the challenges of reconciling his experiences in the “second attention” with everyday reality. He states that the purpose of this book is to rearrange and present don Juan’s lessons on dreaming in a linear fashion, made possible by years of dedicated practice, and to ultimately explain the legacy don Juan left to his final students as an act of gratitude.

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Journal of Applied Hermeneutics – Queries about the Warriors’ Way: What is the point of doing all those Practices?

A Journal of Applied Hermeneutics, Ancient Cycle, Authors, Carlos Castaneda, Nagualism, Warrior Path, Way of the Warrior / By / 4 minutes of reading

In this section, Castaneda addresses two common questions. The first concerns when a practitioner will achieve “seeing,” the direct perception of energy. He explains that while practices are important, the crucial element is to “intend” the outcome—the state sorcerers call “stopping the world,” which is achieved by obliterating self-importance. The second question is about fear over strange physical sensations during Tensegrity. Castaneda recounts how don Juan Matus explained such feelings not as external manipulation, but as natural physiological responses or a product of one’s own victim mentality. Don Juan’s advice was to counter fear by being “impeccable”.

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The Teachings of Don Juan: The Four Natural Enemies on the Path of Knowledge

Ancient Cycle, Authors, Carlos Castaneda, Nagualism, Stalking, The Teachings of Don Juan / By / 10 minutes of reading

Carlos Castaneda presses don Juan to reveal the nature of the “man of knowledge” and the formidable obstacles on the path. Don Juan explains that a man of knowledge is someone who has faithfully navigated the difficulties of learning by confronting and overcoming four natural enemies: Fear, Clarity, Power and Old age.

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The Author’s Commentaries on the Occasion of the Thirtieth Year of Publication of The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge

Ancient Cycle, Authors, Carlos Castaneda, The Teachings of Don Juan / By / 18 minutes of reading

In this commentary, Carlos Castaneda reflects on the thirtieth anniversary of his book, “The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge.” He discusses the initial challenges of his anthropological fieldwork with the Yaqui shaman Don Juan Matus, highlighting the support of Dr. Clement Meighan and Professor Harold Garfinkel, whose influences shaped his deep immersion into the study of shamanistic cognition. Castaneda explains that his work evolved from mere data collection to internalizing the shamans’ unique perception of reality, which centers on energetic facts like “seeing” energy directly and the concept of the assemblage point. He elaborates on the shamans’ understanding of the cosmos, awareness, and the “definitive journey” beyond death, presenting these insights as a “cognitive revolution” offered by Don Juan.

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Journal of Applied Hermeneutics – Who are the Chacmools?

A Journal of Applied Hermeneutics, Ancient Cycle, Authors, Carlos Castaneda / By / 2 minutes of reading

In this query section, Castaneda addresses the question about the “chacmools,” a name given to instructors Kylie Lundahl, Reni Murez, and Nyei Murez. He explains the term’s origin, which don Juan Matus associated with warrior guardians protecting sacred sites. Castaneda clarifies that the title is not exclusive; anyone who accepts the responsibility of guarding, including himself and Carol Tiggs, becomes a chacmool. He notes that these three women were the first to bring the magical passes to the public and are now moving to a new phase on the warrior’s path.

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