reality

The Eagle’s Emanations

Carlos and don Juan continue their discussion on awareness, specifically focusing on the first truth: the world is not composed of objects but of the “Eagle’s emanations.” Don Juan clarifies the distinction between the “known,” “unknown,” and “unknowable,” emphasizing that the unknown is within human reach through perception, while the unknowable remains beyond comprehension. He explains that the ancient seers made a crucial mistake by confusing these categories, leading to their downfall, a mistake corrected by the new seers who learned to map the unknown through controlled “seeing.” Don Juan describes the Eagle as the indescribable force that bestows awareness on sentient beings and devours it at death, an interpretation that both fascinates and terrifies Carlos. He further elucidates that human perception utilizes only a minute fraction of these emanations, and that “seeing” involves sensing the Eagle’s emanations as “filaments of light” that are inherently aware.

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A Witness to Acts of Power – An Appointment With Knowledge

In this chapter, I unexpectedly find don Juan in Sonora, where he reveals that my true path to sorcerers’ knowledge lies in accumulating personal power, not through hallucinogenic plants or intellectual explanations. We visit a power spot where I am challenged to “see” a mysterious “moth,” which don Juan clarifies is a manifestation of knowledge. Despite my rational attempts to explain away the unsettling encounter, don Juan continually emphasizes the role of personal power, impeccability, and the silencing of internal dialogue in understanding the world of sorcerers. He introduces the concept of the “double,” exemplified by don Genaro’s seemingly impossible appearance, challenging my perceptions of reality and demanding that I embrace the unfathomable nature of existence through experience, rather than solely through reason. The chapter concludes with me witnessing Don Genaro’s “double” in a profound and baffling manner, leaving me with a deep sense of perplexity and a clear imperative to continue cultivating my personal power.

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The Tonal and the Nagual – In Nagual’s Time

Carlos recounts his Thursday return to the market where don Juan had “shoved” him, only to find the coin and book stands only appear on Sundays, confirming the unreality of his previous experience. Don Juan and don Genaro appear, teasing him about his physical appearance. Don Genaro demonstrates extraordinary feats like standing horizontally on a tree trunk and gliding through the air, which Carlos struggles to comprehend and often experiences with physical discomfort or an altered state of perception. Don Juan explains that these are manifestations of the nagual, a non-rational aspect of reality, and emphasizes the importance of a clean tonal (the rational self) to interact with the nagual without being overwhelmed or destroyed. He clarifies that while his role as teacher is to work with Carlos’s tonal, don Genaro, as Carlos’s benefactor, introduces him to the nagual, demonstrating its boundless possibilities, even if the “how” remains indescribable and outside the realm of rational understanding.

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Part One: Stopping the World – A Battle of Power

Don Juan takes Castaneda on a journey to hunt “power,” explaining it as a personal, indefinable force that a warrior collects and uses. During an intense lightning storm, Castaneda experiences a vivid “battle of power” where he perceives a solid fog-bridge, which Don Juan later affirms was a real manifestation of power, not a hallucination, despite Castaneda’s skepticism about “power meat.” Don Juan asserts that such encounters are part of a warrior’s path, emphasizing the fluidity of reality and the necessity of accumulating personal power to navigate these other “worlds” and ultimately to “stop the world.”

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Part One: Stopping the World – Becoming Accessible to Power

Following a revelatory peyote experience that marks him as “chosen,” Castaneda is guided by Don Juan onto the warrior’s path, where “dreaming” is revealed not as fantasy but a tangible realm for accumulating power and discerning reality. Don Juan instructs Castaneda on the discipline required to “set up dreaming” and become “accessible to power” through conscious engagement. This culminates in a practical, yet unsettling, lesson at a “place of power” where Castaneda confronts a seemingly monstrous, dying creature, ultimately rationalizing it as a burnt branch, prompting Don Juan to explain that Castaneda missed a vital opportunity to “stop the world” by failing to sustain his perception of the power-infused object.

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Part One: Stopping the World – Death is an Adviser

Don Juan continues to challenge Castaneda’s academic approach by refusing to be a conventional informant and instead pushing him to abandon self-importance and personal history. Through a vivid recollection of Castaneda’s childhood encounter with a white falcon, Don Juan introduces the concept of death as an eternal companion and wise advisor, always present and capable of stripping away pettiness. This intense interaction, marked by don Juan’s unsettling gaze and the perception of omens, profoundly shifts Castaneda’s perspective, leading him to appreciate the desert’s mysteries and the importance of experiencing reality beyond intellectualizing it.

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Part One: Stopping the World – Erasing Personal History

In this part of his apprenticeship, Castaneda attempts to gather ethnographic data from don Juan, but the sorcerer consistently deflects his academic inquiries, especially concerning personal history, which he claims to have “dropped.” Don Juan asserts that shedding one’s past frees individuals from the constraints of others’ perceptions and cultivates a “fog” of mystery. He challenges Castaneda’s self-importance and rigid worldview through perplexing pronouncements and unconventional actions, such as interacting with plants and interpreting environmental cues as “omens” and “agreements.” Don Juan emphasizes that true learning involves relinquishing preconceived notions and adopting a state of constant alertness, rather than relying on external knowledge or conventional methods of understanding.

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Part One: Stopping the World – Reaffirmations from the World Around Us

During their initial meetings, Castaneda attempts to interview don Juan Matus, a Yaqui Indian, about hallucinogenic plants. Don Juan, however, subtly challenges Castaneda’s academic approach and preconceived notions, demonstrating his unique wisdom through cryptic remarks and a powerful, unsettling gaze that silences Castaneda. Don Juan uses a parable to illustrate the futility of rigid preparation and repeatedly asserts that “the world” (including nature and inanimate objects) “agrees” with him, implying a deeper, interconnected understanding. He refuses to be recorded or photographed, emphasizing that the crucial element for understanding is “the spirit,” not external tools, and sets the stage for a different kind of learning.

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Introduction

This introduction clarifies Castaneda’s decade-long apprenticeship with Yaqui sorcerer don Juan Matus, culminating in the “stopping of the world”—a state of altered perception crucial to sorcery, which he initially misunderstood as reliant on psychotropic plants. Don Juan’s teachings, which redefine reality as merely a “description,” involve “seeing” beyond conventional “looking,” and he employs unique, often shocking, tactics to break ingrained perceptions. The narrative details how Castaneda’s early notes, previously discarded due to their lack of focus on hallucinogens, are now reinstated as foundational to understanding don Juan’s method of teaching a new “description of the world” that challenges and ultimately transcends ordinary reality.

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