Practicing the teachings of Don Juan

Back in the 70’s, I was living out on a peninsula that wound out into a lake and then opened to a large expanded area with a house perched on the far end with one of its porches suspended over the lake.  I used to keep my canoe floating in the water underneath my porch, protected from the rain, ready for me to jump in and go at a moments notice. 

During this time period, I was reading a lot of the Carlos Castaneda books and absorbing the teachings of Don Juan.  In one of these books, Don Juan had instructed Carlos to watch a waterfall backwards.   To see the water flowing up, rather than falling down. 

One day, I decided to try this.  I took my canoe down to the dam on the lake.  I got out and climbed onto the top of the dam and lay down on the emergency spillway on my stomach where I could watch the water coming over the top of the dam.  From out of the cascading water, I fixed one spot of water almost midway of the waterfall and just watched it.  I intently stared at just that one spot.  I did not follow the water on down, but just stared at that one spot. And stared at that one spot. And stared at that one spot.  And stared at that one spot.  After a while, I was aware that I was seeing the water for that spot before it got there.  It appeared that the waterfall was flowing up.  I also became aware that I was hearing the most wonderful celestial music.  It was absolutely fantastic.  I had never been so relaxed and at peace in my life.

I don’t remember how long I stayed on the spillway for the dam but I do remember that later, some friends from over on the mainland side of the lake paddled over and called me out to my dock.  I was still so relaxed and spacey from watching the waterfall backwards, that they thought I must be under the influence of some really good drugs, and they were hoping I would share with them.  But I was not; it was just from staring intently at that one spot of water in the waterfall until it appeared that I could see it moving backwards.