A Further View

The world is indeed a mysterious place. There is so much more than what meets the eye.

Everything that surrounds us is an unfathomable mystery. We must try to unravel these mysteries, but without any hope of accomplishing this. Aware of the unfathomable mystery that surrounds us and aware of our duty to try to unravel it, we take our rightful place among mysteries and regard ourselves as one.

We come into this world through the magical opening of birth and leave through the magical opening of death. What happens in between is the condition we call living.

So the big question then is how best to live a life? As the one life available? As the chance to experience our full possibility?

It is then important to be clear about what we are involved with in our living.  Almost all spiritual systems agree that from the moment of birth, we are taught to view the world in a certain way, and to interpret our perception through repeated training, until it develops and solidifies into a shared description and system of belief.

But what is beyond this interpretation? If we look beyond our inherited and socialized notions of what it means to be human and alive, what possibilities are available? These are the questions all truth seekers ask.

The first interest then is to look beyond the barriers of our perception that surround us and hold us back, and to catch a glimpse of what is available, beyond anything expected or even imagined.

This is the overriding focus of the books by Carlos Castaneda, chronicling his involvement with a teacher, don Juan Matus, and the centuries-old tradition of practitioners devoted to exploring the nature of existence. Not only are the books massive in scope, profound in implication, transformative in vision, but also deeply pragmatic, rooted in reason, and even common sense.

I suggest you start with Journey to Ixtlan. As further introduction to the material I offer my own novel, The Art of Terror and Wonder.