"Don Juan" Castaneda Carlos: description, interesting facts and reviews

The palm of the unspoken primacy of the strangest and mysterious writer of the 20th century rightfully belongs to Carlos Castaneda. In order to understand what he deserved such a right, you need to get acquainted not only with his works, but also with information about his life. This is primarily can contribute to the book "Don Juan". Castaneda opens the veil of secrecy over her life in her.

Biography: facts and speculation

The figure of one of the mystical writers of the earth is shrouded in a veil of legends and fictions. Fictional and genuine facts are so intertwined that it is very difficult to separate them. There is not even reliable information about the place of his birth. According to one version, he was born on December 25, 1925 in the Peruvian city of Cajamarca. The other says that he was born a few years later, in 1931. The birthplace has also changed to Brazil. Castaneda was very fond of inventing the facts of his biography, and this concerned information about the parents.

His parents were very young: his mother was barely 15, and his father was only two years older. Being still children, they could not bring up the child. The education of a little Carlos was done by my grandparents. Later, his parents took his son, but not for long. My mother died early, and the boy was again taken away by her relatives. After graduating from high school, he studied sculptor, but, having not achieved great success, he changed the field of activity. He worked as a taxi driver, wrote poetry, and sold alcoholic beverages.

In 1951 he emigrated to the United States and entered the University of California on an anthropology course. People who knew Carlos closely spoke of him as a good friend and master of hoaxes. More or less reliable information about the life of Castaneda, you can take from his books. It's good that there are photos, although this person did not like to be removed.

Was there a favorite family?

His wife was Margaret Runyan, at least, so she herself says in the book of memories of her husband. Castaneda himself claimed that he had never been married. From the book we can find out that the couple divorced, having lived only six months together, although they did not part until the death of Carlos.

Whether Castaneda had children, it is difficult to say. What is true here, and what is not, apparently, we will never know. In any case, there is one young man named Adrian Vashon, who believes that his father Carlos Castaneda.

Don Juan is a fictional character or a real person?

In 1960, an event occurred in the writer's life that changed not only his life, but also the lives of many people on earth. A university student came to Mexico for materials for a diploma, met an Indian, called don Juan, and the world around changed beyond recognition. Until now, people who are interested in his work can not come to one opinion.

Was this person in fact or was Castaneda inventing it? It is difficult to unequivocally answer this question. The name Juan is very common in Mexico, but the author in his work first only talked about an Indian who agreed to teach him. The name began to be mentioned much later.

A shaman whose ancestors were real magicians - that's who don Juan was. Castaneda possessed the main quality necessary for the training of ancient magic - the desire to avoid any conventions. Seeing in him a good student, an Indian 13 years old gave him the secrets of ancient magic. The most important thought, which don Juan Carlos suggested - the magician must be able to erase any information about himself. The student easily coped with this.

"Don Juan"

Castaneda books about how he was attached to the world of magic, wrote in the form of colloquial records. They have gained popularity all over the world. The first book was called "The Doctrine of Don Juan: The Way of Knowledge of Indians from the Yaki Tribe", it was published in 1968.

After its release, a huge number of tourists and students of Carlos Castaneda went to Mexico in search of don Juan. But the search for success did not succeed. Even if don Juan existed in reality, it would hardly be possible to find someone.

List of books of the writer

Only three times the book "Doctrine of don Juan" was rewritten. Castaneda Carlos second wrote in three years, and the third - a year later. After its release, the author was awarded a Ph.D.

His lectures did not have an empty seat, those who wanted to get acquainted with the ancient magic did not fit in the audience. Producers actively begged to sell rights to the screen version of books. But Carlos disagreed, explaining this by saying that he does not represent any acting actor playing the role of don Juan.

During the following years, six more books were written, nine in all. The third and fourth reveal the philosophy of the doctrine, and the others complement it.

Readers' comments

The admirers of the writer's work say that they did not really care whether Don Juan was real. Castaneda or a great anthropologist who carefully studied and described the magical world of the Indians, or a great writer who created a bright figure in literature. In any case, he is a brilliant man, who lived in the 20th century, and is worthy of studying his work.

Castaneda's books can be re-read more than once and always find something new.

Many readers call books about don Juan's teachings a balsam for the soul. They answer the philosophical questions that every person, even once in his life, asks himself. These are really great books that open the veil of the surrounding world.

The main life principles of don Juan

Castaneda did not immediately understand and accept the proposed philosophy. Its main principles are:

1. Always act decisively.

2. A person must be able to change throughout his life.

3. If you did not manage to do something, you do not need to explain the reasons for failure to others.

4. Do not be angry with people, it is justified only when a person is dear to you.

5. If what you do does not appeal to you, you can always start doing something else.

6. You do not like what you get, think about what you give, and change it.

7. Remember that any of your actions or actions can be the last thing you will do in this life.

8. Every person at any time in his life can throw out of his life that which prevents him from moving on.

9. We make ourselves unhappy or strong only ourselves. The most interesting thing is that in both cases, forces are spent on the same.

10. The wisest adviser is death. If it seems to you that everything in your life is going badly, ask her about it.

Smart student

The young man was greatly influenced by the teachings of don Juan. Carlos Castaneda, in order to understand the magic of ancient shamans, learned to do the following things:

1. Meditate to expand the boundaries of your consciousness. The wider they are, the more unlimited the world that you perceive.

2. Let go of people or memories that do not allow to move on and have a deterrent effect on the person.

3. To destroy the existing framework of perception of the world, Castaneda took plant psychotropic drugs for a while. The truth in his books he constantly said that in order to learn how to manage his mind and change it, additional means should not be used. For this there are other methods, which are described in his works.

4. Analyze your personality and decompose it into components: strengths of character, your mood and your desires. Also learn how to remove all unnecessary, which prevents you from moving towards your goals.

5. Disable your "inner dialogue" in order to learn how to effectively use the capabilities of your brain. There is one exercise that works well. Concentrate your attention on the second hand of the clock and watch it for 30 seconds.

6. Learn to be in harmony with the world and your goals.

7. To learn how to do all your actions and actions, guided by the dictates of the heart. It means only doing things that cause ease and joy.

The difficulty of learning, as Castaneda argued, was to learn to perceive the world around us with the whole body, and not just with the eyes and the mind.

Phenomenon of life and death

Discipleship of Don Juan greatly changed Castaneda. He began to talk about what he wants to die as his teacher - to "burn from the inside." One of the legends about his death says that he did not die, but dissolved in the air. The official version also says that Carlos died on April 27, 1998 from liver cancer. His body was cremated, and ashes, according to the will, was sent to Mexico.

There are a lot of books that significantly change the world view, one of them stands out especially - "Doctrine of don Juan". Carlos Castaneda and after death continues to cause incessant disputes about himself and his works. Probably, it is no longer worth trying to understand what is true in them, but what is fiction, the main thing is different. Change your view of the world, the attitude towards yourself, and this is the indicator of good literature, which must be read.