Carlos Castaneda has [placed us inside the shaman's consciousness] and this is why his work is original and important….

In order to show us a world in which "non-ordinary" states of reality are given an equal valence with waking consciousness, Castaneda has devised a powerful literary strategy. He describes "non-ordinary" experiences as they occurred subjectively, often taking him overwhelmingly by surprise. Only afterwards does he give his attempts to understand them rationally—and always in the form of dialogues with his teacher, so that the terms of the discussion are those of Don Juan's world, not ours. Castaneda's narrative surface thus modulates from one state of consciousness to another without transition.

This has caused considerable bewilderment among the group of naive skeptics who say that such things don't occur. Castaneda deliberately leaves out the helpful signposts that might read "hallucinatory state" or "trance."…

There is a more knowledgeable...