Death is the only wise advisor that we have. Whenever you feel, as you always do, that everything is going wrong and you're about to be annihilated, turn to your death and ask if that is so. Your death will tell you that you're wrong; that nothing really matters outside its touch. Your death will tell you, 'I haven't touched you yet.

In Carlos Castaneda e a Fenda entre os Mundos - Vislumbres da Filosofia Ānahuacah no Século XXI Brazilian writer Luis Carlos de Morais analyzes the work of Carlos Castaneda its cultural implications and its continuation in other authors. ISBN 0-06-019220-8. In his books Castañeda narrates in first person the events leading to and following after his meeting Matus a half-Yaqui "Man of Knowledge" in 1960.

Starting with The Teachings of Don Juan in 1968 Castaneda wrote a series of books that describe his alleged training in shamanism. The books narrated in the first person relate his supposed experiences under the tutelage of a Yaqui "Man of Knowledge" named Don Juan Matus.