Part One: Stopping the World – A Worthy Opponent

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

Castaneda faces further encounters with the enigmatic sorceress, “la Catalina,” whom Don Juan reveals to be his designated “worthy opponent,” crucial for his development as a warrior. Don Juan uses these events to teach Castaneda about living strategically, emphasizing control over one’s “doing” and the importance of specific actions and postures, like the “rabbit thumping” dance, when confronting non-ordinary threats. A key lesson revolves around Don Juan’s demonstration of manipulating perception through the “ring of power” and the “ring of not-doing,” explaining how our collective “doing” creates reality and how a sorcerer can transcend it. Castaneda’s fear, self-doubt, and previous social “doings” are highlighted as weaknesses that his struggle with la Catalina forces him to overcome, pushing him to adopt a disciplined, strategic approach to life.

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Part One: Stopping the World – The Ring of Power

Ancient Cycle, Carlos Castaneda, Journey to Ixtlan / By Carlos Castaneda / 23 minutes of reading

Castaneda’s journey with Don Juan continues as they explore “not-doing” in the lava mountains, where Castaneda practices altering his perception of light and darkness and acquires a power object. They encounter four young men, who are sorcerer’s apprentices, and Don Juan teaches them about power objects like quartz crystals and the methods for attracting a spirit or ally to imbue these objects with power. A dramatic demonstration by Don Juan, where each observer saw him in a different “disguise,” leads to a discussion of the “ring of power” and the “ring of not-doing,” illustrating how “doing” shapes our shared reality and how not-doing allows for different perceptions. Castaneda grapples with the strenuous nature of the sorcerer’s path, while Don Juan emphasizes that a warrior transforms their ordinary world into a “hunting ground” by skillfully navigating between “doing” and “not-doing.”

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Part One: Stopping the World – Not-Doing

Ancient Cycle, Carlos Castaneda, Journey to Ixtlan / By Carlos Castaneda / 32 minutes of reading

After confronting “entities” in the wilderness, Castaneda accompanies Don Juan to a “place of predilection” for cleansing and to learn the profound concept of “not-doing.” Don Juan explains that “doing” defines our everyday perception of the world, while “not-doing” allows a warrior to manipulate reality, access hidden truths, and even enhance dreaming. Castaneda experiments with not-doing by observing shadows and a pebble, leading to extraordinary perceptual shifts and a deeper understanding of the lines of the world and personal power. Don Juan also advises Castaneda to challenge his negative self-perception by consciously “lying” to himself, viewing it as a new “doing” to ultimately achieve the “not-doing of the self.”

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Part One: Stopping the World – The Gait of Power

Ancient Cycle, Carlos Castaneda, Journey to Ixtlan / By Carlos Castaneda / 45 minutes of reading

Don Juan instructs Castaneda on the nature of personal power and “the gait of power,” a special way of moving in darkness. Castaneda is left alone in the treacherous night, confronting terrifying “entities of the night” which Don Juan later explains are real dangers attracted to those with insufficient power. Don Juan emphasizes that Castaneda’s frightening encounters are a sign of his accumulating personal power and his body’s need for new experiences, contrasting this with Castaneda’s “chintzy” habit of humoring people, which he must overcome. The practice of “not-doing,” such as focusing on shadows instead of leaves, is introduced as a key method for acquiring and storing this vital power.

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Part One: Stopping the World – A Warrior’s Last Stand

Ancient Cycle, Carlos Castaneda, Journey to Ixtlan / By Carlos Castaneda / 28 minutes of reading

Don Juan leads Castaneda on an arduous night journey, emphasizing concentration and the pursuit of “power,” culminating in a “test” involving omens and the perception of ordinary rocks as “strings” of power. They arrive at a hilltop which Don Juan declares to be Castaneda’s personal “place of power,” destined to be the site of his “last dance”—a metaphorical final act of power and recall before death. Don Juan explains that a warrior meticulously stores personal power at such a place, preparing for the moment of their death, which pauses to witness their ultimate expression of being.

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Part One: Stopping the World – A Battle of Power

Ancient Cycle, Carlos Castaneda, Journey to Ixtlan / By Carlos Castaneda / 29 minutes of reading

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 – The Mood of a Warrior

Ancient Cycle, Carlos Castaneda, Journey to Ixtlan / By Carlos Castaneda / 28 minutes of reading

In this segment, Don Juan leads Castaneda to a sacred “place of power” where warriors would “bury themselves” for enlightenment, attempting a similar experience with Castaneda who struggles with self-pity. Don Juan emphasizes that a true warrior cultivates a specific “mood” characterized by a balance of control and abandon, devoid of self-pity, as this is essential for acquiring power. Further instruction is given on advanced “dreaming” techniques. A dramatic encounter with a mountain lion then serves as a practical demonstration of the warrior’s mood, illustrating how Castaneda’s actions, driven by a primal need to survive, exemplified the desired state of control and abandon, regardless of the perceived reality of the animal.

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Part One: Stopping the World – Becoming Accessible to Power

Ancient Cycle, Carlos Castaneda, Journey to Ixtlan / By Carlos Castaneda / 27 minutes of reading

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 – The Last Battle on Earth

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

In this chapter, Don Juan challenges Castaneda to shed his self-importance and inherent routines, urging him to live every moment as if it were his “last battle on Earth” to imbue his actions with true power and responsibility. This difficult lesson culminates in a profound encounter where Castaneda is forced to confront the act of taking a rabbit’s life, a struggle that becomes a metaphor for accepting one’s own mortality and the interconnectedness of all living beings under guiding, mysterious forces.

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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.

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