Towards the end of his lecture he gave a definition that I considered very important, because he touched on what I felt was a sensitive topic. He said: “Dreaming is not something impossible, it is just a kind of deep […]
Dreaming is not something impossible, it is a kind of deep meditation Read More »
Taisha is guided by “the Caretaker” through an exercise in projecting her consciousness. Using techniques of deep relaxation and breath control, she is instructed to create an “opening” in the “blackness” and send her awareness through it.
In this chapter, Carlos Castaneda is placed under the guidance of Zuleica to learn the esoteric intricacies of dreaming and the second attention. Through a series of ritualistic exercises conducted in total darkness, Zuleica teaches him the physical and energetic maneuvers required to enter the dreaming state, such as creating a “dent” in his luminous shell and merging his two sides of awareness. Castaneda learns to control his dreaming body and move by pure intent. The training progresses to group journeys where Zuleica leads him, la Gorda, and Josefina to otherworldly realms, directly exposing them to the perceptual realities of the second attention so they can develop their own “tales of eternity.”
In this chapter, Carlos Castaneda is formally introduced to Florinda, the master stalker designated as his personal guide into that art. She explains that, unlike a male warrior, she is not bound by the need to erase her personal history and begins recounting her life story as a method of instruction. Castaneda learns of her spoiled, beautiful youth, which was abruptly ended by a crippling disease caused by sorcery. Her narrative then details the initial, brutal, and perplexing encounters with a mysterious woman “curer” who begins to challenge her deeply ingrained self-importance.
In this climactic chapter, don Juan and his party of warriors prepare for their final departure from the world. After a final summation of their teachings, the warriors bestow their parting gifts upon Carlos Castaneda: duty, challenge, magic, and humor. The Nagual woman gives him an intense, final farewell, and Florinda explains the warrior’s ability to face the “wheel of time.” The party then disappears through a slit in reality, while simultaneously, don Juan has Castaneda jump into an abyss to interrupt the continuum of his time. As he falls, Castaneda witnesses the warriors transform into a line of exquisite lights, like the mythical Plumed Serpent, and vanish into the third attention, completing their journey to freedom.
In the prologue to his work, Carlos Castaneda recounts the shift of his academic focus from anthropology to a personal journey into the world of sorcery under the tutelage of Don Juan Matus and Don Genaro Flores. After his teachers depart, Castaneda discovers nine other apprentices who now expect him to assume the role of their leader, the Nagual. This new responsibility, marked by intense clashes with the other apprentices, forces him into a state of profound self-discovery and obliges him to thoroughly review everything he has learned about the arts of dreaming and stalking in order to guide the group.
In this chapter, Carlos Castaneda discusses his visit to the Atlantean figures in Tula with the other apprentices. This prompts la Gorda to recount a terrifying experience with a power rock from other ruins, which resulted in Don Juan burying her for nine days to shield her from the “fixation of the second attention” of its deceased owner. The conversation reveals the dangers of ancient sites, which can act as traps for the second attention, and the two faces of its fixation: the evil one focused on worldly power, and the other focused on the journey into the unknown. The chapter explores the concepts of the three attentions, the luminous body, and not-doing, while highlighting the growing tension within the group and their expectation for Castaneda to act as the Nagual.
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In this chapter, Castaneda experiences a physical and mental crisis, which la Gorda identifies as him “losing the human form.” The tension culminates when Pablito runs away, forcing Castaneda to assert his Nagual authority by physically confronting the other apprentices; during this confrontation, he has a breakthrough and *sees* them as luminous beings for the first time. Later, on a trip to Oaxaca with la Gorda, the memory of Don Juan and a deep emotional connection between them catalyze a shared, sustained vision of people as “luminous eggs.” They realize they have achieved “seeing together,” a significant milestone, and la Gorda insists they must remain silent about the experience to preserve the power they have gained, hinting at a shared past that Castaneda cannot yet remember.
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In this chapter, Castaneda, urged by the apprentices, recounts his personal *dreaming* experiences, including his recurring visions of a saber-toothed tiger, which la Gorda identifies as a dangerous form of “ghost dreaming.” The focus then shifts dramatically when Josefina reveals that she regularly meets with the departed apprentice, Eligio, in her own dreams. Eligio’s mysterious message is that Castaneda is indeed the Nagual but is “not for them” and that he must “remember his left side” to fulfill his role. The situation intensifies as Nestor, Benigno, and Lydia also begin to surface strange “quasi-memories” of Castaneda teaching them things in a past they cannot logically place, causing Castaneda to have a visceral, uncontrollable physical reaction to the bewildering convergence of their other-worldly experiences.
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In this chapter, the apprentices grapple with their inexplicable “quasi-memories.” La Gorda introduces Don Juan’s concept of their group as a four-sectioned snake and leads them on a “power trail,” where they are thwarted by a giant figure Castaneda’s allies are blamed for. The memories intensify, with others recalling a past where Castaneda and a mysterious kind lady cared for them. The climax occurs during Castaneda’s final, disorienting encounter with Dona Soledad, where he has a flash of profound connection, “crossing the parallel lines” of their realities before she departs forever. After this, the group finally leaves their valley, and following another flash of Nagual certainty, Castaneda takes command and directs them toward a mysterious house he now knows is their next destination.
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