# Carlos Castaneda ![[50 Resources/51 Attachments/51.03 Public/2025-08-23_Carlos_Castaneda.jpg|400]] Carlos César Salvador Arana (December 25, 1925 – April 27, 1998), better known as Carlos Castaneda, was an American anthropologist and writer. Starting in 1968, Castaneda published a series of books that describe a training in shamanism that he received under the tutelage of a Yaqui "Man of Knowledge" named don Juan Matus. His most famous works include "The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge," "A Separate Reality," and "Journey to Ixtlan." While Castaneda's work was accepted as factual by many when the books were first published, the training he described is now generally considered to be fictional by scholars. At the time of his death in 1998, Castaneda's books had sold more than eight million copies and had been published in 17 languages. Born in Cajamarca, Peru, Castaneda moved to the United States in 1951 and became a naturalized citizen in 1957. He was awarded his bachelor's and doctoral degrees from UCLA based on the work described in his books. ## Quotes <!-- QueryToSerialize: LIST FROM #type/quote AND [[Carlos Castaneda]] WHERE public_note = true SORT file.name ASC --> <!-- SerializedQuery: LIST FROM #type/quote AND [[Carlos Castaneda]] WHERE public_note = true SORT file.name ASC --> - [[We either make ourselves miserable or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same]] <!-- SerializedQuery END --> ## Books <!-- QueryToSerialize: LIST FROM #books AND [[Carlos Castaneda]] WHERE public_note = true SORT file.name ASC -->