Teachings of Don Carlos: Practical Applications of the Works of Carlos Castaneda Book

Very good summary of Carlos Castaneda's work with Don Juan. There were some interpretations here that I actually didn't get from reading the books themsleves, which i found interesting. For example, I already knew that the alternative reality that Don Juan was leading Castaneda to was a reframing of the perceptual field in the best way a person can do it. Because everything that we see is filtered, or in some ways created, by everything we've already seen and think we know, we can't think our way out of the box of seeing the world that way. The only way to do it is to radically reframe through action and reflection. This book took that a step further and drew a direct line of comparison between this indigenous tradition and the 'oriental' teachings and spiritual practices. Talking about doings as a comparison for the state of no-mind was fascinating. Talking about breaking through these barriers erected by the psyche by doing things completely out of the ordinary, such as running in the dark, walking backwards, cross-dressing, sitting within the energy sphere of a tree and becoming the tree, etc. I also thoughtthe discussion on the fact that the body 'sees' with all of its senses and that many of us have become blind to the full abilities of the body to perceive because we rely so heavily on sight. I've alwayus thought that to be the case, as exemplified by humans who can do astounding things with their other senses when deprived of sight (like echolocation), but seeing it echoed here and referenced in stories I thought I understood about Castaneda was an eye-opener.

I may have to revisit Castaneda's works now. I think I obviously missed some things.