Carlos Castaneda

Sorcerers of antiquity: an introduction – The Art of Dreaming

Ancient Cycle, Authors, Carlos Castaneda, The Art of Dreaming / By / 28 minutes of reading

In this chapter, Carlos Castaneda recounts don Juan’s explanation of the foundational principles of sorcery, established by brilliant but obsessive “sorcerers of antiquity.” Don Juan contrasts their focus on concrete power with modern sorcerers’ search for abstract freedom. The core discovery of the ancients was the ability to perceive energy directly, which they called “seeing.” This led to the identification of the human energy form as a “luminous egg” and its crucial feature: the “assemblage point,” a spot of brilliance that assembles filaments of universal energy into our perception of the world. Castaneda learns that displacing this point—either as a “shift” within the luminous egg or a “movement” outside of it—is the key to perceiving other worlds and is the basis for the “second attention” and the art of “dreaming,” which is defined as the willful displacement of the assemblage point during sleep.

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The second gate of dreaming – The Art of Dreaming

Ancient Cycle, Authors, Carlos Castaneda, The Art of Dreaming / By / 33 minutes of reading

In this chapter, Carlos Castaneda details his journey through the “second gate of dreaming.” After mastering the first gate by developing his “dreaming attention,” he is instructed by don Juan that the next task is to learn to move from one dream into another. This practice leads him to experience jolts of fear, which don Juan reveals are the initial contacts from conscious, non-biological entities called “inorganic beings.” These beings are attracted to the energy charge created by dreamers. After Castaneda’s dreams become fixated on two candle-shaped inorganic beings, don Juan guides him to confront them in the waking world. Castaneda physically wrestles one of the beings, an act which establishes a “watery” or emotional connection that don Juan warns is dangerous and can lead to dependency, even as it opens the door to forming alliances and exploring other worlds.

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The fixation of the assemblage point – The Art of Dreaming

Ancient Cycle, Authors, Carlos Castaneda, The Art of Dreaming / By / 38 minutes of reading

In this chapter, don Juan introduces the concept of “stalking” as the art of fixating the assemblage point, which is crucial for achieving perceptual “cohesion” in new worlds entered through dreaming. He explains that the mysterious voice Castaneda has been hearing is the “dreaming emissary,” a conscious but impersonal energy from the realm of inorganic beings, which he warns against trusting. To illustrate the long and complex history of sorcerers’ interactions with such forces, don Juan tells the story of “the tenant,” a death-defying sorcerer from antiquity who survives for millennia by forming a symbiotic, energy-draining relationship with his lineage of naguals. The chapter culminates with Castaneda performing a practical exercise in stalking, using a mesquite tree to fixate a minute shift in his assemblage point, which plunges him into a fully sensorial other world and highlights the difference between the “human unknown” sought by old sorcerers and the “nonhuman unknown” which is the goal of modern ones.

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The world of inorganic beings – The Art of Dreaming

Ancient Cycle, Authors, Carlos Castaneda, The Art of Dreaming / By / 29 minutes of reading

This chapter details Castaneda’s first intentional journey into the world of inorganic beings. He learns to identify their “scouts”—incongruous elements in his dreams—and, following the ancient sorcerers’ method, voices his intent to follow one. He is pulled into a vast, spongy, tunnel-filled dimension, which the dreaming emissary explains is the interior of a massive inorganic being. The emissary acts as a guide, teaching Castaneda how to navigate this new reality and revealing that this is how the sorcerers of antiquity learned the secrets of dreaming. Don Juan warns him of the dangers, explaining that the inorganic beings are predators of awareness who imprison dreamers by catering to their desires. He recounts the cautionary tale of the nagual Elias and his partner Amalia, who were bodily transported to that world and became its prisoners, emphasizing the supreme risk of trusting these entities or becoming overconfident in one’s own control.

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The shadows’ world – The Art of Dreaming

Ancient Cycle, Authors, Carlos Castaneda, The Art of Dreaming / By / 35 minutes of reading

In this text, Carlos Castaneda recounts his increasingly intense and perilous experiences with dreaming under the guidance of his teacher, don Juan. Carlos Castaneda is warned about the manipulative nature of inorganic beings who inhabit a separate universe accessible through the gates of dreaming. As Castaneda delves deeper, particularly into the “shadows’ world,” he encounters an “emissary” and other energetic entities, eventually discovering a “prisoner scout” in the form of a little girl. Don Juan expresses grave concern, emphasizing the dangers of becoming trapped by these beings, who covet human energy and use elaborate drills to ensnare dreamers. Despite the warnings and escalating anxiety, Castaneda finds himself inexorably drawn to this other realm, culminating in a desperate attempt to free the prisoner scout by merging his own energy with hers.

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The Blue Scout – The Art of Dreaming

Ancient Cycle, Authors, Carlos Castaneda, The Art of Dreaming / By / 19 minutes of reading

Following a perilous dream experience, Carlos Castaneda wakes up severely depleted of energy in don Juan’s home, discovering he was pulled out of the inorganic beings’ world. His companions, especially Florinda Grau, explain his “energetic wounding” and how he became “charged again” but with a disturbing new energy. Don Juan eventually reveals that Castaneda’s physical body was abducted by inorganic beings after his energy body entered their realm to free the **blue scout**. Don Juan, along with Carol Tiggs and others, intervened to rescue him by displacing their assemblage points. The chapter highlights the unprecedented nature of this event within their lineage and the grave implications for Castaneda’s future, as he is now tasked with freeing the scout, a challenge don Juan suggests he can resolve by consulting the emissary.

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The Third Gate of Dreaming – The Art of Dreaming

Ancient Cycle, Authors, Carlos Castaneda, The Art of Dreaming / By / 38 minutes of reading

Carlos Castaneda enters the **third gate of dreaming**, where the goal is to merge his dreaming reality with daily reality by consolidating his **energy body**. He struggles with the compulsion to be absorbed by mundane details within his dreams, a challenge don Juan attributes to the energy body’s inexperience. Don Juan emphasizes the role of the **assemblage point** in this process and reveals that Castaneda’s physical body was abducted by inorganic beings, only to be rescued by don Juan and his companions, including Carol Tiggs, who collectively shifted their assemblage points. Castaneda learns that his struggle to move in dreams is due to his trying to “walk” his energy body, when it should glide or soar. Don Juan then sets the next task: to practice **seeing energy** in his dreams, the true measure of whether he is in a real world or a mere phantom projection.

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The New Area of Exploration – The Art of Dreaming

Ancient Cycle, Authors, Carlos Castaneda, The Art of Dreaming / By / 25 minutes of reading

In this chapter, Carlos Castaneda progresses to the “new area of exploration” in dreaming, focusing on **seeing energy** by voicing his intent. He recounts his initial struggles with this practice, as items in his dreams would vanish or change. Don Juan explains that his previous dreams were merely “phantom projections” and that true seeing occurs when the **energy body** perceives energy-generating items in a real world. Castaneda describes a vivid dream where he saw objects glow and encountered an aggressive, hateful energy. Don Juan reveals this was a real journey to another layer of the universe, where an entity attacked him due to his “availability.” Don Juan further reveals the profound and disturbing truth that the energy sorcerers use to move their **assemblage points** comes from the **inorganic beings’ realm**, a legacy from ancient sorcerers. Despite the danger, Castaneda is urged to continue his practices, maintain **impeccability**, and strive for **freedom** by subtly “stalking” the inorganic beings and taking their energy without succumbing to their influence.

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Stalking the Stalkers – The Art of Dreaming

Ancient Cycle, Authors, Carlos Castaneda, The Art of Dreaming / By / 25 minutes of reading

Carlos Castaneda recounts his struggles with the collapsing boundary of the **second attention**, leading to fatigue and a need for don Juan’s aid. Don Juan proposes “stalking the stalkers” as the final task of the **third gate of dreaming**, which involves deliberately drawing energy from the **inorganic beings’ realm** to perform a sorcery feat: a journey using awareness as an energetic element. Carol Tiggs joins Castaneda for this dangerous endeavor. Their attempt results in an unexpected, terrifying abduction of their physical bodies into an unknown world by the inorganic beings, a trap previously set for ancient sorcerers. Don Juan explains that their combined energy, though substantial, wasn’t the primary factor in their journey; the inorganic beings’ manipulation was. He warns them that their unique situation makes them targets and advises them to avoid each other to prevent future abductions. Castaneda’s dreaming practices are then re-focused on **seeing energy** in various states.

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The Tenant – The Art of Dreaming

Ancient Cycle, Authors, Carlos Castaneda, The Art of Dreaming / By / 32 minutes of reading

In this chapter, don Juan Matus informs Carlos Castaneda that his formal instruction in dreaming is over, but he must outline the fourth gate of dreaming. He takes Castaneda to a town in southern Mexico for a final lesson, which is to be delivered by a mysterious visitor. This visitor is revealed to be the “tenant,” an ancient sorcerer also known as the death defier. Castaneda is overcome with panic and revulsion when he discovers the tenant, who he had previously met as a man, is now a woman. Don Juan explains that for such a powerful sorcerer, gender is a matter of choice, achieved by shifting the assemblage point. Castaneda must now face the tenant alone to make a decision about accepting or rejecting the tenant’s “gifts of power,” a choice that every nagual in their lineage has had to make.

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