One of my favorite mystical adventurers, Carlos Castaneda – The Teachings of Don Juan recounts his quest of how he learned to see beyond the surface reality of life, following Don Juan, a 70 year old Yaqui Indian in Mexico, known to be a brujo, “a medicine man, curer, and sorcerer.” Determined to go deeper into Don Juan’s world of mystical sensation and perception, partly with the aid of plant medicine, but finally and essentially through a demanding effort of intelligence and will.

It’s through the journey of the mystic that the soul discovers that anything is possible. For me, living in the realm of noticing only what is, or seems to be confined to this dimension, is way too limiting. The Magic of life is where everything happens, JOY, LOVE, CREATIVITY, INVENTION. Our lives are filled with magic we just need to wake up and open our lens to see and experience it. It feels like the next inevitable part of my journey to uncover this engagement of my soul contract to go deeper in exploration.

Shamanism

Starting with The Teachings of Don Juan in 1968, Castaneda wrote a series of books that describe his training in shamanism, particularly with a group whose lineage descended from the Toltecs. The books, narrated in the first person, relate his experiences under the tutelage of a man that Castaneda claimed was a Yaqui “Man of Knowledge” named don Juan Matus. His 12 books have sold more than 28 million copies in 17 languages. They have been found to be fiction, but supporters claim the books are either true or at least valuable works of philosophy.