Carlos Castaneda goes back through the most memorable events in his life, having been told that he should do this by Don Juan Matus, a Yacqui Indian shaman who became his teacher for 13 years. He has learned that these events, when collected together, form a device that powerfully stirs energy inside the self that has lain dormant. Our daily lives push these caches of energy outside our reach. This method shows us how to redeploy our unused energy. The aim is to put together the sum total of one's emotions and realizations. For the Shamans of ancient Mexico this energy is preparation for facing the definitive journey, after death. Don Juan taught that through this training, Shamans were capable of retaining their individual awareness and purpose after death, which they needed to undertake the affairs of daily life that occur in a region that Don Juan called "The Active Side of Infinity".