Journey to Ixtlan: The Game of Life.
The wallpaper inside a classic theatre in Oneonta, NY.
“We either make ourselves miserable or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same.” – Carlos Castenada
Don Juan.
Carlos Castaneda wrote a series of books about Don Juan. Not the Spanish womanizer, but the Yaqui shaman.
Carlost Castaneda
The books outline a totally different worldview than that of my upbringing in the Western Culture. I recommend them.
I recently read the third book in the series, “Journey to Ixtlan.”
In this Don Juan teaches Castaneda how to “see”, by “not-doing” and “stopping the world.”
Carlos writes in a very anthropological style and lays out his experiences well.
I took out 4 lessons on how to live well that are applicable to everyone! I am going to share them, how I am employing them with short excerpts from the book.
1. Life is really a Big, Fun Game!
“Your problem now is that you’re too real. Your endeavors are too real; your moods are too real. Don’t take things so for granted.” (pg 15)
I get so wrapped up thinking of ideas for Create Our World that sometimes I just toss and turn at night, plotting my next big idea. Or with having a website, it is easy to be wrapped up in my “Internet identity:” to watch the number of people viewing my website, who is clicking on what, etc. Life should not be taken too seriously!
2. We share the Earth with all sorts of different beings.
“As long as you feel that you are the most important thing in the world, you cannot really appreciate the world around you.” (pg 23)
Don Juan illustrates this to Castaneda by making him talk to the plants around him.
3. Life is Awesome, Mysterious, and Fleeting!
“The thing to do when you’re impatient is to turn to your left and ask advice from your death. An immense amount of pettiness is dropped if … you just have the feeling that your companion is there watching you.” (page 34)
The next day I tried this in New Jersey traffic. I pictured that if I were to die right soon was it worth being irritated at the BMW ahead of me for cutting me off. Life is too short for small irritations!
4. Make every decision thinking it could be your last. No regrets!
“When a man decides to do something he must go all the way, but he must take responsibility for what he does. No matter what he does, he must know first why he is doing it, and then he must proceed with his actions without having doubts or remorse about them.” (page 39)
Some people tell me that it is too dangerous to hitchhike in the USA today. I really think it is too dangerous, not too.
Has anyone read this book? What did you think?
Create Our World.
Ben
“Everything we do, everything we are, rests on our personal power. If we don’t have enough personal power, the most magnificent piece of wisdom can be revealed to us and it won’t make a d*** bit of difference.” – Don Juan
Tags: adventure travel blog, Benjamin Jenks, carlos castenada, create our world, hitchhiking, journey to ixtalan, roadtrip around the USA
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