Carlos Castaneda Introduction

Carlos Castaneda was an anthropology student who went to Mexico in the 1960’s to document, catalogue and study the indigenous use of medicinal plants, with emphasis on plants which produced hallucinogenic effects.

When in Mexico a colleague of Castaneda introduced him to a Yaqui Indian and self proclaimed sorcerer by the name of Don Juan Matus. Carlos had no idea of what was in store for him. This was to be the start of a 20-year long training in the ways of the shaman. Emotionally and spiritually unprepared for the turn of events, Carlos was utterly overwhelmed by the charismatic Indian who through lucid descriptions, practical demonstrations and the use of hallucinogenic plant extracts, began to unmake both Carlos and his world.

During this time Castaneda wrote his field notes which later became the basis for more than ten volumes on his breathtaking experiences in the world that Don Juan threw him into.

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On a personal note, these books have been a great source of spiritual inspiration. This is the most coherent description of how consciousness, perception, life, death and the cosmos work. To this day I haven't found any other philosophy that even comes close to the magnitude and detail described in the works of Carlos Castaneda.

Re: Carlos Castaneda Introduction

The books have also been very helpful to me. I've read them over and over, epsecialy the last one The Wheel of Time I was using to reprogram my consciousness for some time.  I might have to disagree that there is nothing else that is as complete but it's not necessary to look elsewhere, there are several complete practices/pathways included in the works.  The Toltec Way led me to the practice  of inner Yoga (not stretching),  as Don Juan  had said  that One becomes a hunter of power and that the world of men is our Hunting grounds.  So Hunting for power within the world of men I came across mantra repetition.  Mantras have a life of there own. (Don juan had also said that Chanting was a sure way to access the second attention, and I'll tell you also the third attention.)  The power of the mantras I was/am using guided me further into the Ways of inner yoga and now my practices are a combination of the two the Warrior's Way and The Yogi's Way for they meld together perfectly.  And after some years of practice with the Toltec Way, the spirit led me to a teacher whom I knew had the power that us warriors are hunting and storing.  One look at his picture and there was no doubt.  I had come across one of Leonard  Orr's  books “Guide to Physical Immoratality”  this copy had several pictures of Mahavatar Babaji, a baba whos followers beleived had materialized his body and was not born of parents.  One day he went up to the top of this mountain Adi-Kailash and sat for 45 days without taking food, water, sleeping, or using the bathroom.  An example of where sorcery and sadhana are similar is in the practices of sadhus who hold an Arm in the air for twelve years, or stand for twelve years (even sleeping).  Talk about an exercise in Will.

I think it's interesting to note that Carlos Castaneda lived the teachings presented in his books.  In accordance wtih the way of the Stalker nobody knows what was what with him.  Even those who were “close” to him don't know.  When he ended his stay here on Earth, was it 4 or 5 women also disappeared,  they had bought a car with cash in preperation (to be harder to track) and this car was found abandoned in Death Valley.  The death certificate says he was cremated immediatly,  before any one could see a body,  The official satement of his publisher is that he left the world in accordance with the Teachings, that he Burned with The Fire From Within turning the body to light and gaining “immortality”.  I believe that this is indeed the case, it feels right to me.  But if perhaps you have seen the movie on Carlos, you would know that from the body of people who were learning from the New Nagual, after his disapearence, there ws a split almost exactly in half.  Half the people Beleivedn and Half thought it had all been an ellaborate hoax.  As an expert stalker, Carlos left himself completly shrouded in mystery, no one could pin him down now and say he was like this or like that.  And if one really understands the teachings of the books, they realize it doesn't matter whether Don Juan was fiction or not.  All of this world is Fiction.  So many stories that people are creating and living as real getting lost in them.  And lo and behold, even science is starting to describe these teachings that were laid down in the books with quantum physics and theory.  An ocean of potential experience where absolutley anything is possible.

Amazing!  This World is truly an unfathomable Mystery!

Re: Carlos Castaneda Introduction

Hi Darshan, thanks for joining and posting.

My favourite book has got to be The Fire from Within.

I did not know that many details about Castaneda’s departure. Very interesting, and I agree very much about the mystery shrouding his disappearance. If you really want to disappear, the best way must be to leave everyone with a lot of uncertainty and mystery. Good point! I myself am sure that he didn't die, he left, and of course he did. I mean, if I were a man of knowledge like him, I would do the same.

That’s exactly what I tell people who are sceptical about the “authenticity” of his experiences! It really doesn’t matter whether its fiction or not, the fact of the matter is that this person who wrote these books, describes a world which is so coherent, so complete. In my mind, there is no doubt. I simply don’t have any reason to doubt. I find that there is even more reason for me to say that this must be true. First of all, I see that being a warrior helps me in my everyday life. This is no theory; it’s a way of observing the world we live in. And second of all, the scientific world. Like you also mention, science - which is our method of finding “proof” of the existence of things and exploring the describable universe or describing that with we call the universe - is now reaching a point where it becomes evident that it’s the same universe described in science as in the works of Carlos Castaneda. (I would argue that the way of seeing the universe described in his books is very scientific.)

Basically, string-theory talks about a universe that has more dimensions than the 3 + 1 we know (3 dimensions of space + 1 dimension of time), that in its essence is a sea of strings of energy. Don Juan speaks of fields of filaments of energy, an infinity of perceivable worlds, about 200 of which our being is able to perceive, this is only one them.
Science also says that we only use 10% of our brains capacity. At one point Don Juan tells Carlos that we only use a tenth of our energetic body.

That’s only two of many examples of where the commonly accepted explanation of our universe, coincides perfectly with the “shamanistic” world view. And it’s beautiful.

As to the mantras; the practitioners of transcendental meditation, also tells about this sea of pure consciousness which is right there for us to perceive. It’s interesting that when we transcend, it’s the only state of mind where the whole of the brain is active, not only the 10%. Science has seen this now, and is bound to look into the mystery of consciousness.
I am very interested in transcendental meditation and indeed from what I hear on the subject it sounds like mantras are a very effective way to expand the awareness and explore the universe of consciousness. I am still looking forward to experiencing the vast sea of consciousness.

I would be great if you have some “warrior tales” you would like to share on the board, I really like to hear other people’s experiences of the now.

I’ll finish with a quote dedicated to Castaneda from a Spanish reporter Octavio Paz, which summarizes Castaneda’s apprenticeship very nicely. (I haven't been able to find a translation of the Spanish quote, so this is my own translation. If you know the quote and notice any errors, please let me know.)

Anthropology led Castaneda to sorcery and the unifying vision of the world; the contemplation of the otherness in the everyday world. The sorcerers did not show him the secret of immortality, nor gave him the recipe for eternity; they gave him back the power of sight. They opened for him the door to the other life. But the other life is here.
                                                                                                                            - Octavio Paz

Re: Carlos Castaneda Introduction

Anthropology led Castaneda to sorcery and the unifying vision of the world; the contemplation of the otherness in the everyday world. The sorcerers did not show him the secret of immortality, nor gave him the recipe for eternity; they gave him back the power of sight. They opened for him the door to the other life. But the other life is here.
                                                                                                                            - Octavio Paz

Very nice quote.

I am glad to hear that mantras and trancendental meditaion fit your warrior's veiw.  I have met warriors on the www.nagual.net website had allowed there minds to make the warrior's way into a dogma which did not allow for teachings that did not come from the books themselves.  To me it was obvious that we must always be expanding our world view until it collapses all together. 

Re: Carlos Castaneda Introduction

the hero with a thousand faces by joseph campbell parallels castenada's path with heart. the way of the shaman by micheal harner compliments the warrior aspect castenada wrote about too by focusing on the aspect of the healer. however the way of the peaceful warrior goes into a more modern shamanism, it is all about “the journey” or the “path with heart.” just like campbells “follow your bliss.”

Re: Carlos Castaneda Introduction

the mayan calendar, which is actually more accurate than our linear gregorian vatican implemented calendar, supposed that time was cyclic- carlos castenada merely pointed out that in the context of shamanism it was possible to travel thru all of these cycles, and that all those different realites were more than metaphorical.

Re: Carlos Castaneda Introduction

If we choose to believe the carlos and what he constructed about his life, this is true, but there are so many other stories especially about him.  Don't get lost in the “carlos in search of the Carlos” and miss seeing clearly his constructed story from across the myriad of bands of awareness.   He was an artist of pulling many lines together and calling them his own. The story is not as important as the experience.  Experience it… practice it…. there is the revelation.

Donbear

Re: Carlos Castaneda Introduction

Greetings…

Thank you for posting everyone!

DonBear, how much of the works of the Carlos are fictitious in your opinion? I have seen a BBC documentary where the Carlos, his linage and his works were… well ridiculed, basically. His linage was regarded almost as a suicide cult. After watching it, it became obvious that the people behind the film haven't read - maybe not even a single book of Castaneda.

I mean, for me there is no doubt about the authenticity of the shaman's world view / the teachings of Don Juan. And besides, it really doesn't matter weather his story is authentic or not (though I must believe it is), the coherence of the teachings is impeccable.

This is not theory or religion. Its simply a way of looking at the world. And it starts by recognizing the simple fact that the word is not the thing in itself (what it is). The mere acknowledgment of this fact, that everything we can think of or utter about the world is a description - and can thus never be exact - and this description is then what we act upon, should be enough to start an avalanche of questions. Questions that will eventually lead one to the truth - that there is no spoon :-)

Tell me what you think!

Oneness,
Evo

Re: Carlos Castaneda Introduction

Interesting question.  As my partner notes, read between the lines, the energy tells the real story.  And story it is.  If I were to say who was Don Juan, a man that Carlos did work with called Don Black Crow a mexican shaman, peyoteist… and yet there was more. 

I have managed with luck and spirit to meet a similar person who told me that when elders know their talent well and practice their art, they connect with others who practice theirs… so there is community among shaman, often secret.   He told me that he was the last of his generation to be around and it was up to the next to unravel the stories and apply them to living.  But he also told me of his community of spiritual warriors that worked together to serve the people and to find and open lines to freedom and awareness.  He always taught through story, though not necessarily always truthful ones.  

So did Vincente, Genaro, Silvio and all the witches exist, absolutely… In fact old Florinda's house was intense in Mexico, but she was long gone.   What is interesting is most people are not aware that associations of knowledge and power have happened across all cultures.  There are always circles of knowledge and associations of awareness even if they don't know it as it is occuring.  Before CC's work most Americans thought that the there was not a lot of intellectual knowledge and sharing occuring in  Mexico.  But in reality there has been for thousands of years. 

Whether CC invented carlos as the perfect seeker who had experiences and through these, CC was able to share incredible stories of power or whether CC is carlos is not really all that critical. 

The key to the conundrum comes as the buddha said, “follow the dharma, not me. ”  Try it out, gaze, get a boost from the earth, feel the rolling force, stalk, commit to being a warrior, step into Intent, and dream….I would not recommend jumping off a cliff unless you are completely in dream body, where flying is much easier with less disasterous results (take care of the physical it will care for you) ……. but most important, recapitulate the possessive story so it becomes a story of power.  With this technique the magic is every day and everywhere. 

MEanwhile it is always fun to find the sources which CC used.  When I run into direct quotes lifted from other works, lines of thought or revelations, I say, “Wow that Casteneda was brilliant!”

Elders all over the world tell stories, they are there to teach us about the universe and its workings. What we do with the stories and how we live a life of heart is more interesting than if the story in and of itself is true.  Millions of years of stories, only in the last 100 or so have we worried if they are actually true in a scientific sense…. but that was never the point.  We so often get lost in the finger when the elders are pointing at the moon.

 It is sad that the followers of CC were such extremests.  And then there is the morbid obsessions of a man gone mad with his own story… the end is rarely as interesting as the stories we tell ourselves.    Maybe he lept into the abyss, Don Black Crow lived for 20 years more than CC's association recorded in the first two books.  

CC rocks, and that cannot be denied.  But no one who understands him gives a fig about whether the stories of power are actually factually true.

Donbear

 

Re: Carlos Castaneda Introduction

DonBear, as always your reply is pleasantly clarifying - which is great, though it kills the threads! ;-)
I can only agree with you… You left me without a single inquiry. :-)

Oneness,
Evo

Re: Carlos Castaneda Introduction

Conversario can go in any direction we choose… choice is the point. No kill, just opportunity….. There is always inquiry.

Re: Carlos Castaneda Introduction

Hello everyone. I hope you all have not run off - seems like awhile since posts were made here.

I would agree that the details of CC's life are not as important as his works .. those speak for themselves, whatever their ultimate source. I have to say that the books, particular the section on petty tyrants, saved my life once upon a time. For that I will always be grateful to him.

I've read many other works before and since, and, though I find similar threads in many places, no one has presented it in a way that has touched me so much as Castaneda. It is my personal preference, perhaps, but I tend to think of the world very much in his terms.

Good to meet you all!

Re: Carlos Castaneda Introduction

Greetings!

Well, personally I have a lot of tonal stuff to do, but I often check in to see if there has been any activity … Which is not very often though :)

But post a good topic! Lets fire it up a bit! ;)

I would if I didn't have so much work at the university.

Oneness,
Evo

ps. I did see your post some time ago, but then I didn't have the time to answer. :-/