abaddyn

i've read "the crack in the cosmic egg" by joseph chilton pearce three times over the past couple of years, and don juan-carlos castenada are brought up numerous times throughout the book. has anybody read anything by castenada concerning his reality-altering experiences as don juan's apprentice? pearce's work is basically an extrapolation of don juan's ancient native american tribal beliefs that reality mirrors the human mind as much as the human mind mirrors reality, basically saying that as concrete reality seems to be, it is, indeed, pliable. there are an infinite amount of possibilities that reality can take shape as. pearce's work is labeled New Age, but considering that Pearce's work, especially that book, is so influenced by ancient beliefs, i don't see anything New Agey about it other than respecting the wisdom of ancient cultures that our society has documented while rejecting the dull naivety that Christianity and other contemporary religions hold so dear.

castenada's work is downright amazing. he was an anthropologist interested in Don Juan's knowledge of hallucinogens as religous tools. to make a long story short, Don Juan took him under his wing, and castenada's books are mostly about his apprenticeship at becoming a Yaqui sorcerer. the amount of insight into Don Juan's ancient religion is exhilerating, and his accounts of Don Juan's and other "brujos" sorcery is mind-blowing.

has anybody else read this stuff? for anyone humble and open-minded enough to be confused about whether not such powers exist, castenada's work is amazing. however, many people here seem like hardcore atheists, so don't expect castenada to go great lengths to try to "prove" anything to you. pearce's books, on the other hand, would probably be very interesting to anyone except a religious fundamentalist.

Cubeless Academian

There's no evidence that Don Juan ever existed, and Mr. Castaneda's writings bear little resemblance to what anthropologists know of Yaqui culture. If you're interested in Mr. Castaneda's work, I recommend the book Sorcerer's Apprentice: My Life With Carlos Castaneda by Amy Wallace. It's a real eye-opener.

Toto

Castenada had something of a cult following for a time. He is now regarded as having written fiction. It turns out that he was a habitual liar and a New Age entrepreneur.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice

highpreistess

Don Juan was a 'real' person. Carlos Casteneda spent his academic years
trying to learn sorcery, but at the empirical level. It wasn't until later
in his life, that he took the road of memory to catalog the turning point
in his physical life to living in the spirit.

His books were enlightening, and informative. I must have read every
one of them. As a research writer, I was lucky to meet many of his
followers and students.

His use of physcho-tropic stimulants to find the 'otherness' is the same
exercises used in certain zen practices for the same results. Don
Juan taught him the power of mushrooms, jimson weed and of course
peyote, and frog bellies.

These were the stimulants that allowed him to leave his body and wander
the second reality.

hp

Cubeless Academian

Given (a) what we know of Yaqui culture and (b) Mr. Castaneda's track record as a liar, why do you believe that Don Juan was real?

abaddyn

thanks for replying! i've tried talking about this on other boards but no one's ever commented. i've only read carlos' first 2 books, and having read those criticisms i don't feel i've wasted any time. it seems like at least the 1st book is fairly truthful. i'm gonna read "Sorcerer's Apprentice: My Life With Carlos Castaneda" before i read any more of don juan (if i ever do).

what i don't understand is why, in the link that's posted, is it mentioned that don juan never existed, but then doesn't explain why anyone should doubt existence. as far as i can tell, don juan existed and taught carlos much, but then he was finally expelled from the sorcerer's circle for whatever - probably for exploiting don juan and maybe even lying in his later books. and then he keeps writing more books after being expelled? what a phony.

highpriestess, did you read the posted link? or Wallace's book? obviously you disagree with the criticisms. i'm interested to know why too.

Yeshi

i liked them up until ca book 4 or 5.

Some stuff seemed genuine in there.

you mean the TEA, of course... or the bamboo staff the Sensei broke on my back?

Sturmrabe

any use of a hallucenogen is "cheating to enlightenment"

anything anyone takes anything for can be attained though meditation and mental exercise (or prayer as it were)

but hey, who doesn't like teh cheet?

highpreistess

The term high priest and high priestess come from the use of pyscho
tropic stimulants, used by every religion and every culture on earth.

The high priests of egypt used blue lotus, and the burning bush, also
cocaine, The modern day tibetan monks also use blue lotus, and
shaman's have always used the five fingered palm.

This is not cheating, this is the tao, this has been known since the
ancient of days. Natural plants releasing men from the encapsulating
flesh, and keeping us here embedded in the first reality.

Carlos was indeed real, and so was Don Juan. As a research writer
I was able to meet with many of his followers and personal friends.

Carlos was at first academically persuing the results of certain pyscho
stimulants upon the human psyche. He wasn't interested in the shaman.

It was after prolonged use of these stimulants that he entered the
mistic.

As for his encounters with the dancer, the dancer's movements were
praticed, conived in spirit and meaning, it was something that Casteneda
found a great mystery, and he became it's keenest detective, not to
debunk, but to find the parallel. It is why he turned to zen and tai
chi, to find the answers.

He was a great story teller, and as a wizard he truly played both ends
at the middle.

It would be good to read all of his books. They are tell, and a true
journey into the spirit, and the different realities that surround us.
hp

Yeshi

Although i agree that Castaneda's books are fascinating and that he was an excellent storyteller, i am not so much sure about the "benefit".

Embarking on a spiritual journey in a "new age" way, taking a little from here and little from there - and having no qualified teacher to guide you - (castaneda himself is on constant "search" and meandering in understanding
) can lead to serious difficulties.

You CAN get glimpses that you cannot qualify, and you can DAMAGE yourself.
I certainly know a few people that did, when engaging in carefree "experimenting".