Page:Para leer a Carlos Castaneda.djvu/37

 The second part, from "The second ring of power" up to "Silent knowledge", is based on the teachings Castaneda received during the same period, but in the left hand side, nagual, will, other reality or increased consciousness.

These later works: "the second ring of power, the gift of the Eagle, the internal fire, silent knowledge and the reverie art", were written at a time in which Don Juan was no longer "physically" in this world. Castaneda has to "remember", through reverie, all the left side teachings, along with his "litter" of witches. These works were composed of Castaneda experiences with his group and “left side memories” to, finally "harmonically assembling" all the teachings into a single unit.

Hence, in "Tales of power" is where the right side and left side teachings converge. The Castaneda books reader will have to "suffer" the author confusions in this process; will feel that this book, which "does not touches bottom", many things are left without explanation, but through the reading of the remaining books, especially numbers 7 and 8, is where these doubts are clarified.

We will try to comment each chapter of this book, and despite being so large, we will seek to touch on what we consider essential, under the notion that this work in no way can replace the book itself, but it intends to be an introduction to reading the author's extensive and complex work. "Tales of power" is divided into three parts and 14 chapters. The first part is called "A witness of acts of power", the second "the tonal and the nagual" and the third "The witches explanation".

FIRST PART

A WITNESS OF ACTS OF POWER

AN APPOINTMENT WITH KNOWLEDGE

Don Juan establishes that, what matters in apprentices, is that they are impeccable, while recognizing that the discipline and sensitivity help a lot.

The confidence of a warrior is not the same as that of a common man. Common men to walk "tied" to the world and "hooked" to his fellow men, looks for certainty in the eyes of who looks at him act and believes that this is self-confidence. The warrior instead, which is a disciplined human being and serves a very clear purpose, seeks impeccability in his actions and feelings, and he calls that humility, while common men are hooked to people and "gropes" the world; the warrior only depends on himself. Confidence means knowing things with total certainty; humility means being impeccable in his own acts, thoughts and feelings, because all that we are and what we do depends on our personal power.

Don Juan tells Castaneda that human beings are a feeling, taking notice, having consciousness, content in the body. In this book Castaneda speaks of REVERIE, and as an attempt to explain it, will do a parenthesis. Within the strange practices that Don Juan taught Castaneda is controlling and directing his dreams. To reach this requires a certain domain of the everyday world; the warrior ____________________