The Active Side of Infinity by Carlos Casteneda (Audio Book)

The Active Side of Infinity by Carlos Casteneda 

“Ordinarily, events that change our path are impersonal affairs, and yet extremely personal. My teacher, don Juan Matsus, said this is guiding me as his apprentice to collect what I considered to be the memorable events of my life…. Don Juan described the total goal of the shamanistic knowledge that he handled as the preparation for facing the definitive journey: the journey that every human being has to take at the end of his life.

He claimed that what modern man refers to vaguely as life after death is, for those shamans, a concrete region. It is filled to capacity with practical affairs of a different order than the practical affairs of daily life on earth. Yet it bears a similar functional practicality. Don Juan considered that to collect the memorable in their lives was, for shamans, the preparation for their entrance into that concrete region, which they called the active side of infinity.”

In this book written immediately before his death, anthropologist and shaman Carlos Castaneda gives us his most autobiographical and intimately revealing work ever, the fruit of a lifetime of experience and perhaps the most moving volume in his oeuvre.

Who was Carlos Castaneda?

Carlos Castaneda (December 25, 1925 – April 27, 1998) was a Peruvian-born American author. Immigration records for Carlos Cesar Arana Castaneda indicate that he was born on December 25, 1925 in Cajamarca, Perú. Records show that his surname was given by his mother Susana Castañeda Navoa. His father was Cesar Arana Burungaray. His surname appears with the ñ in many Hispanic dictionaries, even though his famous published works display an anglicised version. He moved to the United States in the early 1950s and became a naturalized citizen in 1957. In 1960 he was married to Margaret Runyan in Tijuana, Mexico. They lived together for only six months, but their divorce was not finalised until 1973. He was educated at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) (B.A. 1962; Ph.D. 1973).

Castenda’s Writings

Starting with The Teachings of Don Juan in 1968, Castaneda wrote a series of books that describe his purported training in traditional Mesoamerican shamanism. His 12 books have sold more than 8 million copies in 17 languages. The books and Castaneda, who rarely spoke in public about his work, have been controversial for many years. Supporters claim the books are either true or at least valuable works of philosophy and descriptions of practices, which enable an increased awareness. Academic critics claim the books are works of fiction, citing the books’ internal contradictions, discrepancies between the books and anthropological data, alternate sources for Castaneda’s detailed knowledge of shamanic practices and lack of corroborating evidence.

Castaneda’s Mysterious Death

It is alleged that Castaneda died on April 27, 1998 in Los Angeles. Supposedly his death was due to complications from hepatocellular cancer. There was no public funeral service. The story goes that Castaneda was cremated and his ashes were sent to Mexico. Yet it was nearly two months later, on June 19, 1998, that an obituary appeared. The obituary was titled “A Hushed Death for Mystic Author Carlos Castaneda”. One of the staff at the Los Angeles Times newspaper – JR Moehringer – is said to have written it. However, Stuart Wilde says that Carlos didn’t die…. he merely walked out of this dimension and into another. That is why there was no report of his death when it allegedly occurred. There is neither a death certificate nor a body to be found.

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