Carlos Castaneda’s Books Set 1, The Mastery of Awareness
By Ina Woolcott
"For me the world is weird because it is stupendous, awesome, mysterious,
unfathomable; my interest has been to convince you that you must assume
responsibility for being here, in this marvellous world, in this marvellous
desert, in this marvellous time. I wanted to convince you that you must make
every act count, since you are going to be here for only a short while; in
fact, too short for witnessing all the marvels of it"
Don Juan to Carlos Castaneda, Journeys to Ixtlan
Carlos Castaneda's 12 books are sorted into 3 sets of 3, in harmony with the
Toltec mastery, which is as follows: The Mastery of Awareness, The Mastery
of Transformation, and The Mastery of Intent. Included in each Mastery is
also a 4th book, with complete summary and cross reference detailing the
most important teachings from the overall work in each set. These extra
books were published after the authors death. So the books aren't
necessarily in chronological order. The chronological order would be as
follows:
1 - The Teachings of Don Juan, A Yaqui Way of Knowledge
2 - A Separate Reality
3 - Journey to Ixtlan
4 - Tales of Power
5 - The Second Ring of Power
6 - The Eagle's Gift
7 - The Fire From Within
8 - The Power of Silence
9 - The Art of Dreaming
10 - Magical Passes
11 - The Active Side of Infinity
12 - The Wheel of Time
What follows here are the 3 sets the books are placed in including a brief
description of each book
Set 1 - The Mastery of Awareness
This set of work stresses the importance of awareness from the world of
everyday material things to the world of the Nagual (spirit). Over the
course of this stage of the warrior-travellers development, he/she makes a
purposeful, conscientious effort to depreciate self-importance. It is with
utmost importance that the student is encouraged to take action and accept
responsibility for their lives.
The Books and a short description of each
* The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge (1968)
contained in this amazing book are detailed descriptions of plant allies,
special exercises and the journey in the direction of knowledge. Plant
allies used are Mescalito(or Peyote), Mushrooms, Jimson Weed and Datura.
* A Separate Reality: Further Conversations with Don Juan (1971) this
book in great detail examines the idea of will, controlled folly and
seeing (as opposed to the act of just looking) as tools a utilised by
the warrior-traveller to become a man/woman of knowledge. There are also
more funny and moving conversations with don Juan, beautiful yet at times
frightening journeys undertaken together with plant allies. Castaneda
attempts to see beyond the surface realities of life meaning he must try and
lay aside all preconceptions, a supreme effort of will and great courage.
* Journey to Ixtlan: The Lessons of Don Juan (1972) Lessons in
reaffirmations from the world around us, erasing personal history, losing
self-importance, death as an advisor, assuming responsibility, becoming a
hunter, being inaccessible, disrupting the routines of life, the last battle
on earth (about death), becoming accessible to power, the mood of a warrior,
a warriors last stand, the gait of power, not-doing and dreaming
* Magical Passes: The Practical Wisdom of the Shamans of Ancient
Mexico (compilation) (1998) contents contain descriptions and photos of
sorcery based physical movements designed to boost well-being, a system
which became known as Tensegrity. Before dying, he wished to pass on all he
had learnt in a lifetime of deep immersion in non-ordinary reality. The
magical passes, as suggested by Castaneda, are probably the most valuable
part of his legacy, even more so than all the other extraordinary books
detailing his apprenticeship with Don Juan and his development as a nagual
in his own right.
