Ancient Cycle

A Witness to the Acts of Power – The Secret of The Luminous Beings

Ancient Cycle, Authors, Carlos Castaneda, Tales of Power / By / 37 minutes of reading

In this chapter, Don Juan and Don Genaro initiated a series of challenging tests designed to push me beyond my conventional understanding, culminating in a demonstration of “the secret of the luminous beings.” Through exercises in focusing my will and stopping internal dialogue, I experienced profound perceptual shifts, such as witnessing “the ally” as a moth and “seeing” people as energetic forms. Don Juan explained that all beings are luminous and that our perception is governed by an “assemblage point” that can be moved through discipline and personal power. The chapter concluded with Don Genaro’s astonishing reappearance, which further blurred the lines between ordinary reality and the sorcerers’ world, emphasizing that my reason alone was insufficient to grasp these events and that true understanding lay in direct perception and the cultivation of my will.

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The Tonal and the Nagual – Having to Believe

Ancient Cycle, Authors, Carlos Castaneda, Tales of Power / By / 23 minutes of reading

In this chapter, I met Don Juan in Mexico City, where he appeared in a suit, a deliberate incongruity designed to challenge my perception. He emphasized the warrior’s need for “impeccability” and “humbleness” over self-confidence, asserting that true understanding comes from accumulating personal power rather than seeking convenient explanations. Through the vivid retelling of my dream-control experiences and a symbolic story about two cats, Don Juan introduced the crucial distinction between merely “believing” and “having to believe”—the latter being a warrior’s conscious choice to accept unfathomable realities, particularly the omnipresent nature of death, as a source of power and mystery, exemplified by a dying man we observed in the park.

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The Tonal and the Nagual – The Island of The Tonal

Ancient Cycle, Authors, Carlos Castaneda, Tales of Power / By / 47 minutes of reading

In this chapter, Don Juan introduces the concepts of “tonal” and “nagual” as the two fundamental aspects of every human being, dispelling my anthropological preconceptions. He explains that the tonal is the “social person,” the organizer of the world, encompassing everything we know, perceive, and can talk about, forming an “island” of our known reality. Conversely, the nagual is the indescribable, unknown part of ourselves, existing “beyond the island,” the source of power and creativity that cannot be grasped by reason but only experienced. Don Juan uses various analogies, like items on a table, to illustrate these abstract concepts, emphasizing that the tonal, though crucial for navigating the world, often becomes a “guard” rather than a “guardian,” suppressing the awareness of the nagual. He stresses that true knowledge lies in recognizing and balancing these two aspects, a challenge for any warrior.

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Part Two: The Sorcerer’s Ring of Power

Ancient Cycle, Carlos Castaneda, Journey to Ixtlan / By / 61 minutes of reading

Castaneda grapples with the profound implications of “stopping the world” and becoming a sorcerer as explained by Don Juan and exemplified by Don Genaro’s story. Castaneda learns that this path means abandoning all earthly attachments, including loved ones, and embracing an unknown reality from which there is no return to his old life in Los Angeles. Despite the deep sadness and loneliness this realization evokes, he is told that only as a warrior, balancing terror with wonder, can one survive this path, and though he experiences a fleeting moment of “seeing” their profound loneliness, Castaneda ultimately decides he is not yet ready to fully embark on this transformative journey.

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Part One: Stopping the World – A Worthy Opponent

Ancient Cycle, Carlos Castaneda, Journey to Ixtlan / By / 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 / 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 / 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 / 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 / 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 / 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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