The Teachings of Don Juan

Presented as an anthropological account of an apprenticeship with a Yaqui shaman in the deserts of the American Southwest, this influential and controversial work explores altered states of consciousness, spiritual discipline, and the nature of reality. Blending field notes with vivid narrative, it follows the author’s encounters with indigenous ritual practices, including the use of psychoactive plants, as he is drawn into a radically different way of perceiving the world. Both a countercultural classic and a subject of ongoing debate about its factual basis, the book invites readers to question assumptions about knowledge, perception, and the limits of rational thought. It will appeal to those interested in mysticism, shamanism, and the spiritual currents of the 1960s and 1970s.