A Separate Reality

by Carlos Castaneda and castaneda carlos

Book Overview

"A man of knowledge is free...he has no honor, no dignity, no family, no home, no country, but only life to be lived." --don Juan In 1961 a young anthropologist subjected himself to an extraordinary... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0671732498
• Release Date: August 1991
• Publisher: Washington Square Press
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.58 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.3" x 0.7" x 5.3"

Customer Reviews

a-separate-reality-by-Carlos-Castaneda

Third time ordering this book, and had to send it back. Amazon and an order book store. Can't understand how people could mistake a hard cover for a paper back.

Good books

Thank you

Read this again in 20 years !

Read this when it was first published and again last week. It's the sort of book that challenges our way of looking at our universe. Laugh, have fun and enjoy this now and put it away to re-read later as your own preception change. Yeah, I liked it a bunch then and even more now.

Lessons in Sensemaking for Knowledge Workers

Carlos Castaneda, actually wrote a whole series of book on this one "journey" he had to learn about the secrets of peyote and to become a Man of Knowledge, as he phrases it in "A Seperate Reality". The table of contents are quite simply: * Introduction * The Preliminaries of 'Seeing' * The Task of 'Seeing' * Epilogue Some direct quotes from the book: "We were talking about my interest in knowledge; but, as usual, we were on two different tracks. I was referring to academic knowledge that transcends experience, while he was talking about direct knowledge of the world." p.10 Carlos Castaneda was a graduate student in anthropology at UCLA gathering information on various medicinal herbs used by the Indians in Sonora, Mexico, when he met the old Yaqui Indian on which these books are based. More quotes from the introduction: "Don Juan's method of teaching required an extraordinary effort on the part of the apprentice. In fact, the degree of participation and involvement needed was so strenuous that by the end of 1965 I had to withdraw from the apprenticeship. I can say now, with the perspective of five years that have elapsed, that at the time Don Juan's teachings had begun to pose a serious threat to my 'idea of the world'. I had begun to lose the certainty, which all of us have, that the reality of everyday life is something we can take for granted." p.13 "Apparently in this system of knowledge there was the possibility of making a semantic difference between 'seeing' and 'looking' as two distinct manners of perceiving. 'Looking' referred to the ordinary way in which we are accustomed to perceive the world, while 'seeing' entailed a very complex process by virtue of which a man of knowledge allegedly perceived the 'essence' of the things of the world." p.14 I find it difficult to stop quoting and I could go on forever this stuff is so relevant to what we now understand as the subject of sensemaking! He talks about and defines concepts such as "sensible interpretation", "units of meaning" and "practitioner" (in modern terms a knowledge worker).

Indeed a separate reality

One of Carlos Castenada's best writings. An absolute classic. Reading this book is like participating in Castenada's experiences first hand. His descriptive writing and narration couldn't have been better. If you're looking for a universally philosophical book, this is a must. Castaneda dives in and out of Don Juan's teachings, giving the audience a taste of Yaqui tradition and knowledge. It's a definite eye opener for those who are able to piece Don Juan's "thematic puzzles" together. But, some may have trouble comprehending what may seem like B.S. throughout the story. There may also be some confusion in pieces of the book if you haven't read the prerequisite (Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge). Don't hesitate to check this book out. It's incredibly powerful.