Carlos Castaneda

Journal of Applied Hermeneutics – What is Phenomenology?

A Journal of Applied Hermeneutics, Ancient Cycle, Authors, Carlos Castaneda / By / 3 minutes of reading

Castaneda explores the philosophical method of Phenomenology, as developed by Edmund Husserl. He explains its core concepts, particularly the “epoché” or the “suspension of judgment,” a reduction intended to get back to the origin of experience. However, Castaneda argues from his experience with don Juan Matus that this suspension of judgment is impossible to achieve as a purely intellectual exercise. For sorcerers, suspending their interpretation system is not a philosophical choice but a practical necessity for survival required to perceive the unknown. He therefore proposes to correlate the intellectual propositions of Western philosophy with the pragmatic accomplishments of sorcerers.

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Journal of Applied Hermeneutics – Third Principle of the Warrior’s Way: Perception Must Be Intended In Its Completeness

A Journal of Applied Hermeneutics, Ancient Cycle, Authors, Carlos Castaneda / By / 5 minutes of reading

Castaneda presents the third premise of the warriors’ way: “Perception Must Be Intended In Its Completeness”. He relays that don Juan Matus taught that all perception is inherently neutral, and must be accepted without judgment. Don Juan distinguished his teachings as entries from a “book of navigation” detailing sorcerers’ direct perceptions. The key to this premise is reinterpreting energy without the mind, an act requiring the whole being. This complete interpretation is achieved through the union of the physical body and the “energy body”. Therefore, intending perception in its completeness means reinterpreting energy with both of these essential parts of oneself fully engaged.

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Journal of Applied Hermeneutics – The Force that Holds Us Together as Fields of Energy

A Journal of Applied Hermeneutics, Ancient Cycle, Authors, Carlos Castaneda / By / 4 minutes of reading

In this entry, Castaneda explores a concept from ancient sorcerers: a vibratory, “agglutinating force” that holds humans together as a unit of energy fields. Don Juan taught that practicing the magical passes is the key to becoming conscious of this force. Castaneda recounts that while ancient sorcerers learned to use this force to dissolve their physical mass, they became obsessed with controlling it after finding they could not act in that state. He explains that modern practitioners, in contrast, seek only to become aware of this force for the sake of knowledge and well-being. According to don Juan, its only permissible use is for a sorcerer to employ it to burn from within at the moment of death.

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Silent Knowledge – Dreaming

Ancient Cycle, Authors, Carlos Castaneda, Silent Knowledge / By / 4 minutes of reading

In this chapter, Castaneda explores the “art of dreaming,” which he defines as the sorcerers’ technique for breaking the parameters of normal perception to travel into the unknown. Don Juan explains that sorcerers’ dreaming (*ensoñar*) is different from ordinary dreaming (*soñar*) and is based on the deliberate displacement of the “assemblage point” from its usual position. This practice originated from the ancient sorcerers’ observation that the assemblage point moves naturally during sleep. The key to this art is the development of “dreaming attention,” a focused awareness that allows the practitioner to control the dream state and enter other real, energy-generating worlds. The art of dreaming is complemented by the “art of stalking,” which is the ability to hold the assemblage point fixed in its new position, allowing for a full exploration of these other realms.

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Silent Knowledge – Inner Silence

Ancient Cycle, Authors, Carlos Castaneda, Silent Knowledge / By / 3 minutes of reading

This chapter focuses on “inner silence,” the ultimate goal for the sorcerers of ancient Mexico and the culmination of the other four practices. Don Juan defined it as a natural state of perception free from the internal dialogue, where awareness becomes sharper and knowledge is instantaneous. This state is the matrix for an evolutionary leap called “silent knowledge”. Castaneda explains that it is achieved through the disciplined practice of forcing oneself to be silent for accumulating periods of time, until a personal threshold is crossed. He then recounts his own experience of reaching this threshold, which resulted in “stopping the world” and becoming consciously aware, for the first time, that he was *seeing* energy directly. Don Juan clarified that this was not a new perception, but rather becoming deliberately conscious of an awareness that had always been present.

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Silent Knowledge – The Westwood Series

Ancient Cycle, Authors, Carlos Castaneda, Silent Knowledge / By / 29 minutes of reading

This final chapter is dedicated to “The Westwood Series,” a specific sequence of magical passes designed to integrate the other four “concerns” of the ancient sorcerers: the center for decisions, the Recapitulation, dreaming, and inner silence. Don Juan explained that the magical passes themselves act as an “agglutinating force,” a vibration that binds these other areas of practice into a single, functional unit. The chapter serves as a practical manual, organizing the series into four distinct sections, each corresponding to one of the other concerns. It then provides detailed descriptions and instructions for performing each of the individual passes within these four categories, outlining their specific movements and energetic purposes.

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Silent Knowledge – Introduction

Ancient Cycle, Authors, Carlos Castaneda, Silent Knowledge / By / 6 minutes of reading

In this introduction, Castaneda presents the core concept of “silent knowledge,” described by his teacher, don Juan Matus, as the ultimate goal of the sorcerers of ancient Mexico. This state of awareness, where all pertinent knowledge is revealed directly to the being, is born from its matrix: “inner silence,” a state free from the internal dialogue. Castaneda recounts his difficulty in grasping these abstract ideas until don Juan offered a more modern analogy: becoming “readers of infinity.” He explains that rigid procedures are useless for this path; the key is reinforcing one’s link with a universal force called “intent.” Castaneda also introduces the “magical passes” as a practical means to achieve the physical and mental well-being necessary for this journey. Finally, he reveals that because he and his companions are the end of don Juan’s lineage, they have decided to make the magical passes public under the name “Tensegrity,” and he outlines the five main topics of the book that lead to silent knowledge.

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Silent Knowledge – The Magical Passes

Ancient Cycle, Authors, Carlos Castaneda, Silent Knowledge / By / 4 minutes of reading

In this chapter, Castaneda recounts his first in-depth discussion with don Juan Matus about the “magical passes,” which began with a criticism of his physical condition. Don Juan reveals he had been teaching Castaneda the passes all along, disguised as his habit of “cracking his joints.” He explains that these movements are not mere exercises but are truly “magical” because they can halt the mind’s normal “lines of similarity” and interrupt the mundane flow of reality, which is perceived as fixed and unchangeable. Don Juan also makes the startling claim that the mind is a “foreign installation” and that the passes help to overcome its influence. He reveals that the origin of the passes lies in the *dreaming* practices of ancient sorcerers, who discovered them as a way to recreate states of well-being and prepare for their “navigations into the unknown.”

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Silent Knowledge – The Center for Decisions

Ancient Cycle, Authors, Carlos Castaneda, Silent Knowledge / By / 4 minutes of reading

In this chapter, Castaneda explores the second topic of interest for the ancient sorcerers: “the center for decisions,” located in the “v” spot at the base of the neck. Don Juan explained that this is one of six main energy vortexes in the body, but its specific, fluid-like energy is displaced early in life, resulting in the human inability to make decisions. He also reveals the sorcerers’ view of the center at the top of the head, which they believe has been taken over by a “foreign installation”—the mind. The magical passes, or modern Tensegrity, serve to strengthen the other five centers by redistributing energy that has been scattered to the edges of a person’s luminous being. This redistribution of energy, especially to the center for decisions, restores the capacity to decide and overall vitality, overcoming the indecisiveness and exhaustion caused by the wear and tear of daily life.

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Silent Knowledge – The Recapitulation

Ancient Cycle, Authors, Carlos Castaneda, Silent Knowledge / By / 4 minutes of reading

In this chapter, Castaneda details the third pillar of sorcery practice: the “Recapitulation.” He describes it as a procedure for reliving one’s entire life with two main goals. The first is cosmological: to satisfy a universal force called “the Eagle,” which seeks a being’s life experiences, not its life force. By offering a detailed account of their lives, sorcerers can retain their life force at the moment of death and embark on a journey of perception as inorganic beings. The second goal is pragmatic: to acquire “perceptual fluidity.” Reliving memories forces the “assemblage point” to shift to its past positions, and this repetitive movement grants the practitioner the flexibility needed to face the unknown. Castaneda also describes the practical method taught by don Juan: making a list of all known persons and using a specific breathing technique to inhale recovered energy and exhale unwanted feelings associated with each memory.

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