On the Toltec path, what we call devaneio in Portuguese corresponds exactly to what Don Juan called ensueño in Spanish and to what Castaneda’s books translate in some passages into English as daydreaming. Although, in everyday usage, these terms might […]
There’s a secret that breathes in the space between two breaths. There — in that silence that doesn’t fit into any clock — we perceive that the body is merely the visible edge of something vaster. The skin vibrates like
Clarity is the stability of our worldview,and it is the confidence in that stability. Thus, when someone achieves Clarity, and allows themselves to be conquered by it, they begin to have the sensation of seeing things more and more clearly.The
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The fourth unit of the warriors’ way is THE ENERGY BODY Don Juan Matus explained that, since time immemorial, sorcerers have given the name of energy body to a special configuration of energy which belongs to each human being individually.
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Don Juan continues his teachings on the mastery of awareness, introducing the three cornerstones of the new seers’ practices: the mastery of stalking, the mastery of intent, and the mastery of dreaming. He explains that stalking, a systematic control of behavior, subtly shifts the assemblage point and was uniquely developed by the new seers to handle people. The mastery of intent involves understanding and purposefully guiding “will,” the energy of alignment that shapes perception. Don Juan then elaborates on dreaming, revealing it as the most effective way to move the assemblage point, starting with its natural shift during sleep. He details the dangers of dreaming, stressing the necessity of sobriety and the warriors’ way to cultivate the inner strength needed to guide the assemblage point. Castaneda witnesses Genaro’s dreaming body in action, a non-human luminous blob, and learns that true mastery allows one to wake up in different “dreaming positions.” The chapter emphasizes that impeccability and unbending intent are key to achieving these shifts and the full potential of a warrior, enabling even collective dreaming among seers.
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Don Juan continues his instruction by prompting Castaneda to see the Eagle’s emanations and the cocoon of man through a controlled shift of his assemblage point. He explains the interplay of will and intent in moving the assemblage point, guiding Castaneda into a dreaming position to observe luminous beings. Castaneda experiences a startling encounter with the rolling force, or “tumbler,” perceived as fiery balls that hit him, revealing the protective function of human “shields” (consuming interests) against this lethal force. Don Juan explains that losing the human form is an inevitable stage for warriors, marking a permanent shift of the assemblage point away from its original fixation, leading to irreversible disaffiliation from the force that makes one a “person.” He elaborates on the rolling force as the means by which the Eagle distributes life and collects death, distinguishing between its destructive (“tumbling”) and life-sustaining (“circular”) aspects. Castaneda vividly recalls seeing the tumbler during a previous event in Mexico City, prompting further discussion on its nature and the vulnerability of the gap in the cocoon. Don Juan concludes by contrasting the old seers’ fatal obsession with the destructive aspect of the rolling force (which led them to become absorbed into it, or even transform into trees to evade it) with the new seers’ aim for total disintegration into the Eagle’s emanations through balanced understanding and impeccability.
Don Juan declares the culmination of his teachings on awareness, tasking Castaneda with breaking the barrier of perception unaided, by moving his assemblage point to assemble another world. He warns of a final test: jumping into an abyss from normal awareness, where success hinges on aligning a new world before impact. Castaneda, guided into a state of inner silence, experiences a shift into a familiar “sulfur dunes” world, and then into a black world, a uniquely valuable alignment. He encounters allies and perceives the black world’s peculiar timelessness, which ages the body. Don Juan explains that these are true shifts, not illusions, emphasizing the danger of being stranded in these new realities if one lacks control or the necessary support. He reveals that the old seers often misunderstood these shifts, mistaking them for literal ascensions or descents. The chapter culminates with Castaneda’s final challenge: to vanish the current world by entering the black world alone, a final act of inner silence and awareness that represents the warrior’s ultimate freedom and the dissolution of the everyday world.
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Don Juan concludes his teachings by assembling his party and apprentices on a mountaintop, preparing for their final departure into total awareness. He emphasizes that the manipulation of intent through sober commands, coupled with inner silence, is key to shifting assemblage points. This maneuver, vital for new seers, allows them to achieve total freedom by escaping the Eagle, unlike the old seers who merely shifted to other dreaming positions to delay death. Don Juan clarifies that freedom is the Eagle’s gift, attainable with sufficient energy and a life of impeccability. Castaneda, Pablito, and Nestor, along with other apprentices, are then instructed to jump into an abyss from normal awareness. Instead of dying, Castaneda (and the others) shifts his assemblage point and assembles another world, thus surviving the jump. The epilogue ends with Castaneda realizing that he and his fellow apprentices are left to integrate their heightened awareness, facing profound questions about man’s fate, and waiting for the energy to accept the ultimate gift of total awareness themselves.
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.
In spite of the amazing maneuvers that Don Juan performed with my awareness, over the years I stubbornly insisted on trying to intellectually evaluate what he did. Although I have written at length about these maneuvers, it has always been
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