Customer Reviews

Journey to Ixtlan (Arkana S.)

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This is a life-changing book and a spiritual classic (I rarely give ANYTHING 5 stars) but someone ought to mention that there is a certain amount of controversy about the accuracy of Castaneda's Don Juan series. Researcher Richard de Mille is probably the most even-handed of the critics and The_Don_Juan_Papers is worth a read, though some of the criticisms are merely carping small-mindedness.

Regardless of your attitude toward Castaneda's (or Don Juan's!)literal accuracy the series, of which Journey_to_Ixtlan is the best, presents a coherent and engaging spiritual existentialism. A Must Read!!!

It took a lot for me to get through Castaneda's first book, The Teachings of Don Juan. I was totally unimpressed with it. The whole book was essentially about how a Yaqui Indian "sorcerer" put naive Carlos, then a graduate student in anthropology from UCLA doing research on a hallucinogenic plant, through a bunch of weird drug trips that shook his view of reality. And to me, that doesn't jive at all.

But in Journey to Ixtlan, Castaneda goes back and says, "wait, start over, reset. I was wrong about all of that drug stuff, it's really not necessary, don Juan just put me through that because I was too stubborn and 'rational' to see that there may be other views of reality than the ones I subscribe to." In this book he discovers that he doesn't need drugs to experience other worlds. Rather, there are a series of practices for right living that enable the possibility of perceiving in nonordinary ways.

So Journey to Ixtlan is where the real lessons about living life in the warrior's way begin. I recommend this book highly as a starting point for Castaneda's work; forget the first two books.

Forget the debate as to whether Castaneda's writings were a hoax or that his books became important reading for the drug culture. Although I suggest you read his first two books before reading this one but if you read only one book by Carlos Castaneda this is the book to read. Be his books accurate reporting by a cultural anthropologist (which is becoming increasingly more and more  doubtful), mysticism or hokum, this particular book is quite moving and lyrical. And whether his stories are real or imagined and whether the teaching he transmutes came from Don Juan or from his own mind by his knowledge as a trained anthropologist the underlying mystical principles of these stories cannot be dismissed out of hand.
  Shaman, poet and perhaps an academic scoundrel it is Castaneda's poetry and story telling that comes shining through in this book.
  If Castaneda's books were a hoax and were represented as cultural anthropology as a better hook to sell books it is a shame because he did a disservice to science and to his legacy. Still I myself, as a former researcher in Harvard University's anthropology department and a student of human ethology, can forgive this sin on one level and enjoy this book as a powerful work of liturature.
For if there has been a wrong that has been committed against anthropology it is one that was done by the way the books were marketed and perhaps by the author's personality itself. The works themselves should not suffer and be shunned for this.
His legacy would have been better served if he wrote these same works as a writer of fiction.
I believe the author would have been wiser to present his works the way Gurdjieff presented "Beelzebub's Tales to his Grandson" rather than obstinately insisting there really was such a person as Don Juan (even if in the off chance that his teacher did exist).
Despite the controversy his writing stands on its own and Journey to Ixtlan is a powerful, touching, enchanting and beautiful book.

I started reading ( & still re-read) Don Juan's
books by "Carlitos" long long ago , (mid 70's) &
still thank God that somehow I found his books
. The most important thing this book taught me
is to ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR MY ACT
IONS .
I was young & lost & scared & a mess & that
concept had never crossed my mind. I was us
-ed to blaming others & their actions towards me
etc....for the outcomes of my life.
Well let me tell youuuuuuu something. What an
EYE OPENER !!!!! ha ha ha . I also leared not
to judge people & still try not to..... I remember
Don Juan used to say something lilke " do not
send your bad thoughts to a person that may have
done something wrong. It doesn't do them any good or yourself."
I adore Don Juan &' Carlitos' as he used to call him. Don Juan
had the BEST sense of humor I've ever seen.
Castanedas' book enchanted me, terrified me
( to the point that I slept with the lights on a couple
of nights ) enlightened me, inspired me & finally
changed me inside for the better.
I got a lot out of this one book so I read the rest
of them & loved them ALL! , Journey to Ixtlan I
have read so much it fell apart! but I love it .
It is my bible on how to be a decent person.

If you're interested in Castaneda, this is the book you should read first. It covers the same time period as the previous two, but Carlos is no longer as dense as when he wrote them. This book opens the doors to a whole new way to view the world.

Castaneda did the world a favor when he began chronicling his apprenticeship with Don Juan Matus. Whether or not Don Juan was one or three real people is irrelevant since what Castaneda learns is highly relevant to all of us. Learning to "stalk" the self, learning to achieve equilibrium in a world full of petty tyrants (including the petty tyrant of the "self") are among the most trenchant lessons Castaneda provides us. This book is the place to start with Castaneda and you'll even find within it Don Juan doing magical passes 25 years before Castaneda finally admitted there were such things. The books by Castaneda are the most important books in my life and I highly recommend them to anyone who's after an alternative way of looking at life and the human condition.

The question with regard to Carlos Casteneda is this: If we accept the premise that this book is largely fiction, does that in turn trivialize the message he is trying to impart? Just what is his message? If the message is that the world is full of witches, sorcerers, irridescent coyotes, allies, and phantoms, then the answer must be an unqualfied "yes". These entities are no more real, and have no more importance than angels and miracles, zombies, ghosts, or anything else whose existence cannot be objectively observed. However, despite the cult that has grown up around these writings, I don't think this is what Casteneda had in mind. Don Juan warned against being trapped in the world of sorcery, just as he did against getting trapped in the world of everyday concerns. It was when Carlos, the character, realized that he and the dung beetle were on even terms, even though their sensory worlds were profoundly different, that he was finally able to "stop the world". The warrior, says don Juan, takes responsibility for his life, and interacts with every event as if it is his last. Moreover, once one makes the transition to the path of knowledge, one can never go back. "Ixtlan" is by definition childhood's home that one can never return to. These are timeless and profound concepts, that transcend the venue of leaping shadows and bridges in the fog.

Casteneda is an unusual writer, and his insistence on portraying his character as an annoying whiner gets a little wearing after a while. The two messages I found in this work - that the world is much more than appears, and that it is important not to sleepwalk through our lives - these concepts never wear thin for me. And the observation that our modern man can learn these lessons from a superstitious old Yaqui is endlessly gratifying to me.

There are many ways to get to the place that Casteneda is trying to show us, and therefore I can't place this volume in the "must read" category. But the concepts have value, and you won't regret the effort in getting to the last page.

All Carlos' books are exceptional. For first time readers, I would read Ixtlan first, than 'Teachings'. Than just read them all. A great guide to understanding whats important in life. Don Juan insists you are responsible for your actions and take each action as if it was your last.

I just finished re-reading Journey to Ixtlan for the sixth time, and each time I read the book I find new wisdom and a new lesson I can relate to in my own life. There are crucial lessons here, whether or not you believe the actual experiences that happen. Through his relationship with Don Juan, Carlos Castenada reminds us of how truly mysterious the world is, and how much awe and wonder there is in ourselves, if we are brave enough to be willing to see it.
The book really has very little to do with peyote or drug usage persay, it has much more to do with questioning the very foundations on which we base the world to become aware of reality. Not one that has been dumbed down by definition and categorization but experienced as it is. I see a direct link here with "I Am That" (a book of talks/interviews with an Indian Guru), and even The Matrix.
But the sense of power in nature and the drawn out detailed depictions in nature are like very few books I've ever read.
This is a great book for an English Class, Existential Philosophy, or Cultural Anthropology, and I do not see this is as a work of fiction. At the very least it is an invitation or reminder for us to rediscover the magic in our own lives again.
It is a thoroughly enjoyable read - suspend your analytical mind for two hundred sixty pages and enjoy.

In this book, Castaneda tries to instill in the reader the components of personal power. A person of personal power can be summed up as someone who chooses to live as a victor rather than a victim. And to break away from the conditioning and habits of society and the norm.
Don Juan tries to impart to Castaneda some empowering mindframes and attitudes, such as by Erasing Personal History, one is able to break away from the excuses most people make in their life, and start to take Responsibility and action to change it, rather than blaming and getting stuck. Also the part about losing one's self-importance is extremely powerful wisdom, as he teaches that self-importance is one's own illusion. Only a person with self-importance easily feels hurt by the remarks of others.
It is interesting to note that this one of the Castaneda books that really sticks in people's mind, and has influenced a whole generation of spiritual and motivational thinkers, such as Wayne Dywer, Richard Bandler, Anthony Robbins among others.