Carlos Castaneda

[garners]

"I have met them, and I had quite some interactions with them, in the real world as well as in the vision world." 

"Thinker" is not a sane person but is a good example of what drugs and Castaneda type thought can bring a person to.
Seems Castaneda draws this variety of nut case roleplayers  like rainstorms draw toads in the spring..   

"Posting crazy"  and  "soapboxing" (roleplaying as if on a stage")  are just  trolling techniques used  to disrupt threads that otherwise intelligently point out Fraud. 









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[Thinker]

Well, man, the validity of your statement depends on your definition of sanity, and I'm sure we have quite a different one.

But honestly, I don't understand how you can draw this conclusion, no matter how wicked your definition of sanity is, from this quote of mine. So let me ask you a few questions:

1. Do you think it's insane if I say that I met Carlos Castaneda, Florinda Donner, Taisha Abelar, Carol Tiggs, and a couple of others from these people in the real world?

2. Do you think the vision world exists and one can have interactions with people there?

If you answer no to the first question, you're a fool, since there are lots of people who have met these people.

If you answer no to the second question, you're a fool, but I certainly wouldn't take the effort to convince you of that.

So, yes, feel free to believe I'm not sane, and let me believe whatever I might wish about your own sanity and those of all the people who deny the experiences of others in the vision world they don't know anything about.

[E.P. Grondine]

Hi -

There was a book published years ago (Cut Stones and Crossroads) which pretty much detailed Castaneda's fraud, exactly who, how, and when. That the information in it was widely ignored speaks volumes about the strength of some peoples' desire to be deceived, and of others' greed.

[garners]

This is not about you "thinker". I certainly hope administration has the forsight to delete your account sooner than later.

[Thinker]

This is not about you "thinker". I certainly hope administration has the forsight to delete your account sooner than later.

Well, your obvious attack of hatred against me makes me wonder whether you're not one of those SR trolls who tries to have any mention of this subject be hidden from the public.

If you're not, please explain:

If this is not about me "thinker" then about whom is it?

And if it's not about me "thinker" then why should administration delete my account?

Is it about you "garners" maybe???

[Thinker]

Oh, sorry, maybe I understand. Is it the quote from the end of my first post? It was taken from the book of a famous German anthropologist (I don't know the name in the moment, but may look it up if you want to) about shamanism. The attitude of the author towards "supernatural" things is not as naive as it might look from this quote, it's critical but also positive, tries to understand instead of judging (or prejudging).

[E.P. Grondine]

Thinker,

If a legitimate spiritual guide had agreed to provide you with guidance, there would be no issue, and no one here would be trying to warn you off this.

Please, please, read the account of Castenada in "Cut Stones and Crossroads", and then judge for yourself.

[Thinker]

Well, who is the authority to say whether a spiritual guide is legitimate or not?

The book you mentioned seems to be the wrong one, it's a travel guide about Peru:

review

[Barnaby_McEwan]

This topic is about Castaneda, not your personal worldview. Please use the private message facility to continue your discussion.

[Ari]

Interesting discussion about true origins of Castanedian "teaching" was started at Sustained Reaction board: 

http://sustainedreaction.yuku.com/topic/5591/t/Govinda-An-Eastern-Connection-revisited.html

[E.P. Grondine]

Once again, please, oh please read the account of Castenada in "Cut Stones and Crossroads"

[koyoteh]

when I read Don Juan when I was younger , I didn't see him as presenting himself as anyone but a victim of a medicine mans practical joke.

His book never presented himself as a leader of anything.  It was reading audience that followed that turned him into the icon. ANd then I think that he decided to go with it ,take advantage of it , and profit from it .

In the book all I could see was that the "shaman" Don Juan was constantly playing jokes on him, making fun of him, making him do ridiculous things . And so Castaneda being young and eager and anxious did whatever he was told no matter how stupid it was. Most of the time it seemed that the "shaman" was very annoyed with castaneda as Castaneda was constantly hounding him and wouldn't leave him alone.

I think we all have met people like that.
I think even that the book says one more thing that people don't see upfront which is Don't Be a Fool Like Castenadas Character in the book. I have seen medicine men play mean well deserved practical jokes on people who make themselves vulnerable. I see them do this and then talk about it later to everyone else making fun of their victims. Medicine men or not, they are human who also like to laugh and play. But also to protect the people from newage hippies like Castanedas character in the book.

I also met a man who runs medicine ceremonies . An old guy, who is said to be the basis for the Don Juan character. And this old man is a trickster.

So I feel that the general public has misread this book to be about finding knowledge and spirituality, when in reality its about telling us not to behave like a fool.

[MatoSiWin]

WOW, I haven't hear that name in a LONG time.   I remember when I was a young teen, my mother had gone back to college (on one of her unsuccessful attempts to straighten out) and as part of her philosophy class they were reading Castaneda's writing (drivel).  She was so "into" it for a while there, and went on and on about it, so I decided to read some of it for myself.  Even as a very young girl I was able to recognize it for what it was... pure imagination, like something out of the Willy Wonka movie... "Come with me, and you'll see, there's a world of pure imagination..."

hmmm, I wonder if he ever met any oompa loompas along the way. ::)

[deafskeptic]

I remember trying to read it years ago and I never finished it. It seems to appeal mostly to the Baby boom generation.

[manny]

I have never talked in public about what I'm about to share.  I attended the University of California at Irvine between 1968 and 1972.  Carlos Castaneda was teaching during the summer of '69 and "71 (as memory serves me). I took his classes since I was smitten by his books.  He had a office for student consultations in the Humanities building. The second time he was teaching at UCI I made and appointment to see him.  The appointment was made on a thursday about 1pm.  I arrived at my appointment on time and Carlos was not there.  I waited for a while before sitting on the ground in front of the elevator. It seemed like a long time and the halls were empty of anyone.  Finally, two
young men emerged from the elevator and I noticed that they where hispanics who appeared to be out of place at the university due to their dress and manner. They greeted me with hardly and utterance then turn to my left and proceeded to enter the
balcony which housed classrooms.  I assumed they were workers employed by the university.  Still, I was bothered by their uncharacteristic manner.  Then, like a flash, I remembered some of the young characters that Castaneda described in his book.
No more than 45 seconds had elapsed when I rose and started for the door that led to the balcony. I opened the door and they could not be seen.  I walked in search of them.
All the classrooms were closed, locked and dark. You could clearly see the enterior of each classroom through large windows. No one was in them. The only access was the balcony walkway. There were no other exits. It was too high for them to jump to the ground without major injury or death.  I must have gone over this ground a least a 100 times.  To this day I cannot account for it.
Before you dismiss this account as either error or psychosis.  Keep in mind that I believe that Castaneda is a fraud! But for entirely different reasons.