Carlos Castañeda

Carlos Castañeda

Carlos Castañeda (Carlos César Salvador Arana) was born on December 25th, 1925. Carlos passed away April 27th, 1998 at 72 years old. Carlos Castañeda was born in Cajamarca, Peru. Castañeda attended The University of California, Los Angeles where he received a Bachelor's degree and a Ph.D degree.

Carlos Castaneda was an anthropologist and writer from Peru who was one of the pioneers of the New Age movement. He is best known for his bestselling works on the mystical secrets of a shaman from the Yaqui Indians.

Castaneda has been an enigma for years, refusing to be recorded or photographed and offering conflicting information about his background. He moved to the United States in 1951, and it was during the 1960s that he met a Yaqui named Don Juan Matus, whom he believes could manipulate space and time.

He apprenticed under the shaman, and together, they had many hallucinogen-fueled adventures. In the mid-sixties, he moved back to Los Angeles and started writing about his time with the shaman. As he became more famous, scholars began saying that his works were fiction, even though he insisted everything he wrote was true.

In his later years, Carlos Castaneda receded from public life and started something of a cult community with the women he gathered around him. He died in 1998, having sold more than eight million copies of his books, which have been translated into more than 17 languages across the world.

Carlos Castaneda published his debut work, The Teachings of Don Juan, in 1968. The work combines mysticism, memoir, and anthropology as it chronicles the author's apprenticeship under a Yaqui Indian sorcerer from Mexico known as Don Juan Matus.

Using hallucinogenic plants, Don Juan imparted knowledge to his apprentice as he taught him aspects of perception, personal power, and how to choose a path with heart.

Even though many scholars doubted the authenticity of the book, it has become one of the most seminal works that has influenced consciousness exploration and perceptions of shamanism.

With many questions unanswered from his debut, Carlos Castaneda published his second work, A Separate Reality, in 1971. He continues to chronicle his apprenticeship under Don Juan Matus.

In this outing, he explores the concept of perceiving energy as it flows through the universe. Don Juan introduced him to various practices using psychotropic plants that were all about gaining control over his perception and expanding consciousness.

It is a work that explores themes of the nature of reality, self-discovery, and the transforming power of shaman practice.

A year later, Carlos Castaneda published his third novel, Journey to Ixtlan. In this one he moved beyond the focus on psychotropic plants, as he explores reality and perception.

The author introduces some deep shamanic practices and emphasizes the importance of living as a warrior with awareness and intent. Shifting from his earlier focus, this is a deeper and more introspective look into spiritual philosophy.

Related Authors

Fans of Carlos Castañeda also enjoy these authors:

1. Stephen King, author of The Dark Tower Series.
2. Ray Bradbury, author of: Fahrenheit 451.
3. Raymond Chandler, author of the Philip Marlowe Series.
4. Robert A. Heinlein, author of: Stranger in a Strange Land.
5. Harlan Coben, author of the Myron Bolitar Series.

Carlos Castañeda: F.A.Q