Journey to Ixtlan
By Carlos Castaneda
In the first two semesters of my time at Maryland I was looking to understand myself further. With my recent rediscovery of the wonders of words and literature, only three years preceding, I knew reading would be a significant factor in my introspective endeavors. At the same time, I was well in tune with my affinity for personal and direct experience and exploration. I found a meditation group where I was given a book list. Journey to Ixtlan was on that list. The story in Journey to Ixtlan was parallel to my own "spiritual" yet existential investigations.
Carlos Castaneda, an anthropologist, journeys to deep parts of a desert to visit Indian sorcerer Don Juan and discovers a lot from what he is not told. He goes with an objective taxonomic mindset: he just wanted answers to his questions about Indian demographics. In retrospect, he finds that his aim was a) existentially arbitrary and b) the Indian population was so mixed and multicultural that it would be quite difficult to get any straight answers. However, something kept him coming back though he was not making any headway on his assignment. The mystery of Don Juan’s ways in warriorhood brought him back season after season. In the end Carlos found a new outlook on life, not exactly in a new-age way, but that the fabric of his existence acquired a higher thread-count.
Oh yeah—I was very disappointed that no explicit accounts of peyote trips were recorded. But there was some trippy stuff in there.
I wondered why a book that explores Native American spirituality was on that book list. And I found my answer; Castaneda became fully aware of the robotic manners of his intellectual, academic, life pursuits. All the while, he thought he had some control and choice but in truth, he was totally limited to identifying with his “roles” and memories. To put it in a few words, I think Carlos’s Journey to Ixtlan points out how social and societal education entwines with self-identity to become a cognitive drug for the masses. It is possible to function without drugs or intoxication and still be part of a drug-culture: to be a warrior.
"Only as a warrior can one withstand the path of knowledge...because the art of a warrior is to balance the terror of being a man with the wonder of being a man."
~Journey To Ixtlan
1 comment:
Although this book is the third book in a series by Carlos Castaneda, it can be enjoyed if the others have not been read. There are many wonderful and powerful insights into the human condition within these pages. It is rather like a ‘book of wisdom’ handed to you from an old Indian decended from ancient Indian times. If you like Castaneda already this is a must for you, and if you’ve nevr read any of his works this one may well end up your favorite, as it is mine.
Post a Comment