2nd Ring of Power

Precise account of the truth. Only, it's hidden for those who have eyes to SEE and ears to HEAR. Art.

For those who are yet to read this book - im not going to tell you what is it about. Im just gonna say that this book is very different from prequel (i believe that was Tales of Power) In fact, here we are revealed something about Carlos' overall mission as a new nagual - something mind boggling. It is interesting to see though, how he must react to ceratain things as a nagual, while at the same time realizing to himself that he is not. That is a one of many conundrums that this book offers a reader. I recommend it especially to those who find that little (or big) something in Carlos Castaneda writings and way.

Carlos Castaneda was one of the most controversial writers of the twentieth century. Some in academia branded him a fraud for claiming his stories were biographical rather than fiction, while lauding him as a great novelist for exposing a mass audience to otherwise inaccessible philosophical abstractions they claimed were largely plagiarized. Each of his works is a piece of a larger puzzle, which makes it impossible to critique any one book without addressing the larger context into which it fits. His first two books, "Teachings of Don Juan" and "A Separate Reality" describe experiences induced by ingesting psychotropic hallucinogenics prepared by a Yaqui Indian shaman from Sonora, Mexico he called don Juan Matus, and accounted for his becoming a guru to a generation seeking short cuts to spiritual enlightenment, as well as his lifelong interest in the relationship between perception and reality, a theme now explored in many popular books on consciousness and quantum physics. Unfortunately, these books remain his best selling works, in spite of Castaneda refuting their importance in his later works. Readers would be best served to skip these and avoid the risk of being turned off to Castaneda and missing the more stimulating works that followed. His third and fourth works were "Journey to Ixtlan" and "Tales of Power." In Ixtlan he admits to over-estimating the value of his drug experiences, which caused him to overlook the more profound teachings of don Juan which became the focus of future writings. What emerges is a spiritual discipline dating back to the Pre-Colombian Toltec sorcerers of Latin America, culminating with don Juan's departure from our world, effectively ending Castaneda's direct affiliation. In his fifth and sixth works "Second Ring of Power" and "Eagles Gift" Castaneda suffers strange flashbacks of what seem to be memory fragments of events he is unable to fit into any logical time sequence. In his seventh and eighth works, "Fire From Within" and "Power of Silence," Castaneda succeeds in reconstructing his lost memories, which derive from teachings previously administered by don Juan while Castaneda was in a "heightened" state of awareness. In books nine and ten, "Art of Dreaming" and "Active Side of Infinity," Castaneda focuses on what he describes as inorganic predators from another dimension, some having the power to imprison humanity in "ordinary reality" so they can feed on the dark emotional energies we produce when succumbing to the negative thoughts they insert into our minds. In later years several seemingly substantiating works appeared by two of Castaneda's female apprentices, Taisha Abelar and Florinda Donner-Grau. In addition, two scathing exposés were also published by two of his ex-wives. The first, "Magical Journey with Carlos Castaneda" by first wife, Margaret Runyon, offers little corroboration, since her marriage pre-dates the time when the bulk of Castaneda's adventures were claimed to have occurred.

Second Ring of Power is a compelling novel about the special shamanic powers of women. Centered around the female disciples of Don Juan, these women ensnare, terrify and eventually mentor the sincere yet bumbling Castenada. As he re-enters the phantasmagoric and treacherous Mexican night with his new female masters, he discovers a whole new realm of mystery and fascination. A must read for feminist Castenada fans.

i have read all of Mr. Castaneda's books, and have recently re-read a good portion of selected books from this whole group of books, including the second ring of power....Mr. Castaneda's rendering of his experiences with his cohorts, and teachers has to be taken in the full context of all of his books. The ideas that he speaks about obviously are not his, he was an uptight, overachieving academic type. he would not have the full imagination to think up all of this "stuff".but the whole group of books where he explains in detail the specific way to become a "warrior" is not for the massess. The massess have no thought over and above their everyday life, much less such an esoteric explaination of a unique way of life. And very few would take this walk of life.I know alot of people obviously think that the things described are from his imagination or maybe from his drug induced thoughts, but as one reads each and every book it is obvious that there is something more that is going on. each of his books builds upon the last and tries to explain the full impact of what he was told and what he saw and experienced.life is full of mysteries that we have not delved into...other dimensions that we have not explored this does not mean that they are not available.it just means that most people cannot make that leap into another reality.that of course is their loss.

In this book, Carlos makes it clear that warrior means WARRIOR. Awareness only grows through life-or-death struggles, and this is not a bit of poetry. He makes clear how disastrous it is to confront Infinity with even a tiny amount of pity. Ironically, our only hope for freedom and beauty is to remember that nobody owes us anything. The Second Ring of Power is the sharpest, most energetic of the Castaneda books.