“A Separate Reality” by Carlos Castaneda – Unlearning the World

To begin with, I feel I must open with the statement that this series of books by Castaneda needs to be read in the order they were published in; otherwise, you are going to have a hell of a time comprehending, analyzing, following and being entertained.

If you haven't read The Teachings of Don Juan yet, I would suggest you begin your journey into this wondrous world over there.

In any case, this time I believe I can skip over the various concerns I previously addressed about this whole series in regards to the veracity, accuracy and believability of what is written, and simply re-state that regardless of whether or not the incredible events described throughout the books transpired, the ideas put forward in them still remain as separate and extremely interesting entities on their own.

In any case, A Separate Reality picks up as Carlos returns to Don Juan after a long hiatus to eventually resume his teachings. In comparison to the first book, this one goes in greater depth about the various concepts and theories which serve as the foundations of those spiritual beliefs, putting less emphasis on the sheer awesomeness of it all and more on attempting to understand it and find meaning.

Once again, we are taken as deeply as memory and language allow us into Carlos' otherworldly experiences, and he does a magnificent job at conveying the various perceptions he had and putting them in terms that would make sense to us, because after all, some fantastical things simply cannot be explained in terms of what is already known.

A Separate Reality takes some of the concepts presented in the first book and develops them much further, adding some new ones to the mix as well. For instance, Don Juan goes in greater detail about what it means to live the life of a warrior and walk the path of knowledge, what a sorcerer can truly do in this world with his or her powers, the idea of “seeing” the world as it objectively is with nothing being inherently more important than anything else, the importance and meaning of the concept of controlled folly, just to name a few.

In other words, if there is something this book does not lack in it is food for thought... it's actually pretty safe to say that this is the kind of book one needs to read multiple times to get all the ideas in, especially because of the numerous parts where every phrase contains a wealth of knowledge.

Though the book does in fact touch on a large number of heavy topics, there is no lack of entertainment to be found here. Some moments do, of course, call for seriousness and concentration, but the interactions between Carlos and Don Juan sound like something a comedy duo could think up, at least to a certain extent and on some occasions.

A lighthearted and perhaps even somewhat carefree approach is taken sometimes by Don Juan, leading to decent amount of teasing and laughter. It balances out rather well with the other parts of the book, making for a very balanced reading experience in terms of overall pacing and such.

All things taken into consideration, A Separate Reality is most certainly a worthy continuation to the first book and can be a gold mine of knowledge for those who are willing to delve into the actual ideas and philosophies rather than dwell on whether or not all of it is real.

I definitely recommend it if you've read the first book, and once again, if you haven't touched the beginning I heavily recommend that you do before venturing into this part.

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Carlos Castaneda  (December 25, 1925 – April 27, 1998) Personal site Carlos Castaneda was a Peruvian-American anthropologist and author who achieved a cult icon status upon releasing the series of books starting with The Teachings of Don Juan. Though much criticism has been thrown his way in regards to the authenticity of his accounts, the ideas he presented this world with hold spiritual and intellectual weight, regardless of their nature.