"The sorcerers' revolution," he continued, "is that they refuse to honor agreements in which they did not
participate. Nobody ever asked me if I would consent to be eaten by beings of a different kind of
awareness. My parents just brought me into this world to be food, like themselves, and that's the end of
the story."
CARLOS CASTANEDA was the author of ten bestselling books,
including the acknowledged classicThe Teachings of Don Juan
and most recentlyThe Art of Dreaming andMagical Passes. He
departed on his definitive journey in 1998.
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§ theactivesideof infinity §
THIS BOOK IS a collection of the memorable events in my life. Don Juan revealed to me as time went
by that the shamans of ancient Mexico had conceived of this collection of memorable events as a
bona-fide device to stir caches of energy that existwithin the self. They explained these caches as being
composed of energy that originates in the body itself and becomes displaced,pushed out of reach by the
circumstances of our daily lives. In this
sense, the collection of memorable events was, for don Juan and the shamans of his lineage, the means
forredeploying their unusedenergy.
gathered them following the recommendation of don Juan Matus, a Yaqui Indian shaman from Mexico
who, as a teacher,endeavored for thirteen years to make available to me thecognitiveworldof the
shamans who lived in Mexico in ancient times. DonJuan Matus's suggestion that I gather this collection of
memorable events was made as if it were something casual, something that occurred to him on the spur
of the moment. That was don Juan'sstyle of teaching. He veiled the importance of certain maneuvers
behind the mundane. He hid, in this fashion, the sting of finality,presenting it as something no different
from any of the concerns ofeveryday life.
Don Juan revealed to me as time went by that the