Taisha Abelar is an American writer and anthropologist, and a former associate of the shaman and author Carlos Castaneda, also known as Don Juan. She wrote about her experiences in The Sorcerer's Crossing: A Woman's Journey . Carlos Castaneda was a graduate student in anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles, gathering information on various medicinal herbs used by the Indians in Sonora, Mexico, when he met the old Yaqui Indian Don Juan. His first book, The Teachings of Don Juan , was the story of the first period the two men spent together as master and pupil. This was followed by the other volumes in the series, A Separate Reality , Journey to Ixtlan , Tales of Power , The Second Ring of Power , and The Eagle's Gift , all of which are published by Penguin. He also wrote the Art of Dreaming (1993).