Customer Reviews

A Toltec Path: A User's Guide to the Teachings of don Juan Matus, Carlos Castaneda and Other Toltec Seers

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

 

 

The author does a good job of presenting the Toltec path for those who might otherwise struggle with the writings of Carlos Castaneda.

He claims to have met "Don Juan". I won't comment there, perhaps it was a vision, perhaps Castaneda only had a vision. Perhaps Don Juan met a lot of people (I've met a lot of people, why shouldn't he?). The quality of the work stands above and beyond such things.

However, one thing that was a major turn off was that the author changed a lot of the Castaneda terminology so it would be "politically correct". Personally, I think that the term "ranger" sounds pretty dumb. The terms "warrior" and "stalking" reflect and suggest the strong link to death that runs very strong in the Toltec world. Are we really only "tracking" power? Do we just want to see were it has been so a real "stalker" can capture it for us because we're a bit to PC for the job? :P

Why "pretty it up"? This annoying feature couples with what I found to be a bit too much of a "joy joy" New Age and PC perspective. I suppose the author isn't just redoing Castaneda, and offers his own perspective. Frankly, this addition isn't appreciated. What I loved so much about Castaneda was the "no bs" grit of the perspectives offered there. Castaneda kept it real and this author does harm in my opinion by bending the system like he does. I'd rather have seen him simply offer his own view of the Toltec universe without the references to Don Juan or Castaneda and thereby sully them by association. Either you have the ethos to do it on your own or you ought to submit something more in the spirit of those whom you want to represent.

Oh well, otherwise, it's a comprehensive introduction to the world of the Toltec "sorcerers" found in Castaneda's books (my apologies for saying a bad word).

5 stars for a comprehensive and readable job, 1 star for the patronizing PC goop that pervades this book. I'm weighting the content, and simply plugged my nose when I had to, so 4 stars.

Writers like Victor Sanchez and Ken Eagle Feather are valuable because they help to clarify, codify, and make practical what don Juan has taught through Castaneda's books. Although on the one hand, it's ultimately a barrier to further growth if you try to make something into a philosophy with certain dogmatic strictures, on the other hand, I found Castaneda's books hard to apply to my own life, until I started reading books by other Toltec writers.

I believe Ken Eagle Feather has a superb handle on these concepts and he does a good job in conveying what they mean.

On a side note, I don't believe book reviews should descend into personal name-calling. Frankly, a lot of Castaneda's stuff could be labeled New Age crap too, and has been done so by various anthropologists and others who have investigated his life. It depends on your point of view, and what you find valuable. What is real? The point is, even if don Juan was not real, how valuable was Castaneda's portrayal of him? How much could you learn from him? Ask Native cultures about the value of stories that cannot be independently verified or seem "unreal." The same, then, applies to Eagle Feather: Even if you don't believe that he has been taught by "the man" don Juan, how much can you learn from what he's written?

Now, in other books Eagle Feather does delve into things like chakras and out-of-body experiences and chanelling, based on his experiences with the Monroe Institute. Depending on how much credibility the author his built with you, and how much stock you put into those phenomena, that will bias you one way or the other. Personally, I feel that his corroboration of various Toltec concepts through diverse explorations only adds to the validity of this material.

Put simply: "A Toltec Path" is an excellent handbook for learning about the way of the warrior. It is not, as Eagle Feather himself says, a replacement for Castaneda's works. Instead, it's a complement, a sort of Cliff Notes, and a very comprehensive one at that. Indeed, I appreciate having all of the major concepts in one place.

Moreover, I'd have to say that I'm not actually a huge Castaneda fan, I've read less than half of his books. But through neo-Toltec writers like Sanchez and Eagle Feather, I feel that I've taken advantage of the available information and used it in my own way to help craft my own path. And that is invaluable.

I highly recommend this book.

I found this book to be extremely helpful in understanding the Toltec path. It is an incredible reference book for don Juan's teachings. I have read many of Castaneda's books, and this one adds to the richness of the Toltec lineage. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in becoming a warrior-seer.

a good read for people interested in this subject. the author indulges too much in selfconciousness and newagespeak. this book could be edited to half it's size and be a much better work.

I too should write a book like this and jump on the fantasy bandwagon. I know as much as Ken does about Castaneda, his book is a rehash of the Castaneda books and says nothing new. Why pretend you knew Don Juan. The book is full of ego and self importance and is completely opposite to the teachings of Don Juan.

Ken, you're supposed to lose self importance not inflate your ego even more.

I would rate this more highly than Castaneda's books, because it is concise and to the point. An excellent distillation of the way of the Toltec seers. I read all the Castaneda and didn't understand that much of it, but this book gave it all perspective and coherence.

This guy is very imaginative about his relationship with "Don Juan" and frankly should be sued. He does not know what he is talking about. The book is full of new age blar blar and if you want to live a fanasy world then enjoy, other wise skip it.

Don Juan has certainly gotten around and has many newly discovered apprentices inculding Mr. Ego feather...He has jumped into one "new-age" fad as an expert then another..go figure...