The Power of Silence

I felt scared and spaced out by this book, possibly due to the psychedelic drugs I was experimenting with at the time 💥. It made me even more superstitious.

On a wider scale, this is self-help book (of sorts) on how to deal with the pressures of life and disconnect your mind from daily concerns while learning to stress out less. Discovering how to quiet your thoughts and focus.

Carlos Castaneda ventures into the desert, meets Don Juan and takes peyote in an attempt to resolve his questions on the meaning of life. It's autobiographical to an extent, personal and rather fantastical.

As a form of meditation, you learn that 'silent protectors' focus on positives as a way of getting through stressful situations. A How To Win Friends and Influence People type of book for drug users, if you like.

You don't need to go to Jamaica, smoke a pile of weed and be happy don't worry. The Mexican desert will do just fine.

Nor do you need to abandon your car, washing machine and mobile phone in an attempt to be content, but getting away and simplifying things for a while can be a real help.

There's something very sinister and scary about this message, by seeing too much from the other side while staring into the abyss. When your heartbeat slows down and there's nothing left besides your pulse, nature and absolute silence, that's when it gets scary and too beautiful to put into words.