Take Death as an Advisor

Just a short post about the background of this painting called "Take Death as an Advisor". In the past couple of years I have read extensively Carlos Castaneda's books on his journey as the apprentice of a Mexican shaman called Don Juan Matus. There has been a lot of questioning about his testimony : did Castaneda, freshly graduated anthropologist, lived supernatural experiences (as he claimed) or was he "just" a literature genius with a great imagination? It is up to everyone to make its own opinion...

Anyway the fact is the books are great, and you can find a lot of interesting similarities between the spiritual principles set in those books and other spiritual path such as Buddhism. One of the similarity is the fact that in order to live a full, inspiring life and make the most of it you must keep in mind that death is the final outcome of every life.


Take Death as an Advisor
Oil on wood panel
18.1" x 26" (46 cm x 66 cm)