Part One: Stopping the World – Disrupting the Routines of Life

Ancient Cycle, Carlos Castaneda, Journey to Ixtlan / By Carlos Castaneda / 13 minutes of reading

In this chapter, Castaneda learns from Don Juan that true hunting transcends mere trapping, emphasizing the crucial need to disrupt personal routines and embrace unpredictability to avoid becoming “prey” oneself. Don Juan illustrates this by contrasting human habits with the non-routine existence of “magical” animals, culminating in a surprising anecdote about his own encounter with a talking deer, further challenging Castaneda’s conventional understanding of reality and self.

Part One: Stopping the World – Disrupting the Routines of Life Read More »

Part One: Stopping the World – Being Inaccessible

Ancient Cycle, Carlos Castaneda, Journey to Ixtlan / By Nagualismo / 19 minutes of reading

Don Juan continues to dismantle Castaneda’s conventional worldview by stressing the uselessness of personal history and self-importance, linking his own wisdom to having shed these burdens and emphasizing the constant presence of death as a hunter. He challenges Castaneda’s reluctance to take responsibility for his actions and decisions, using an analogy of Castaneda’s father and a parable of a young man and a “spirit deer” to illustrate the importance of commitment and the understanding that all decisions, regardless of apparent significance, are made in the face of death.

Part One: Stopping the World – Being Inaccessible Read More »

Part One: Stopping the World – Becoming a Hunter

Ancient Cycle, Carlos Castaneda, Journey to Ixtlan / By Nagualismo / 19 minutes of reading

Don Juan challenges Castaneda’s initial desire to learn about plants by pushing him to understand the concept of beneficial and enemy spots through a double perception technique achieved by crossing his eyes, emphasizing that true understanding comes from feeling rather than intellectualizing. He then shifts Castaneda’s focus to hunting, explaining it as a way of life that demands responsibility and precise action in the face of death, the hunter, ultimately revealing that he, too, is a hunter and warrior, unlike Castaneda, whom he provocatively calls a “pimp” for not fighting his own battles.

Part One: Stopping the World – Becoming a Hunter Read More »

Part One: Stopping the World – Assuming Responsibility

Ancient Cycle, Carlos Castaneda, Journey to Ixtlan / By Carlos Castaneda / 18 minutes of reading

Part One: Stopping the World – Assuming Responsibility Read More »

Part One: Stopping the World – Death is an Adviser

Ancient Cycle, Carlos Castaneda, Journey to Ixtlan / By Nagualismo / 17 minutes of reading

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.

Part One: Stopping the World – Death is an Adviser Read More »

Part One: Stopping the World – Erasing Personal History

Ancient Cycle, Carlos Castaneda, Journey to Ixtlan / By Nagualismo / 26 minutes of reading

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.

Part One: Stopping the World – Erasing Personal History Read More »

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

Ancient Cycle, Carlos Castaneda, Journey to Ixtlan / By Nagualismo / 13 minutes of reading

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.

Part One: Stopping the World – Reaffirmations from the World Around Us Read More »

Introduction

Ancient Cycle, Carlos Castaneda, Journey to Ixtlan / By Carlos Castaneda / 12 minutes of reading

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.

Introduction Read More »