Odvojena stvarnost: Nastavak razgovora s don Huanom

Unlike the first book ("The Teachings of don Juan"), here Castaneda places greater emphasis on the way of perception and understanding of reality from the perspective of shamanism. The book deals with the question of how different ways of perception can open the door to a "separate reality" - a world that exists parallel to the ordinary, rational world. Don Juan teaches Castaneda that ordinary reality is not the only possible one, but that there is a world that we can perceive if we develop "seeing" - the ability to directly perceive energy and truth, beyond the senses and intellect.

The main tools in this stage of learning still include psychoactive plants, such as Peyote (Mescalito) and Datura, but don Juan increasingly emphasizes the importance of discipline, awareness and inner silence. Castaneda faces internal conflicts and doubts as his Western mind has difficulty accepting the shaman's logic and experience that defies scientific explanation.

"Separate Reality" explores the limits of knowledge, perception and identity and asks the question of what is real - what we perceive or what we are told is real?