Perception
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Who likes or hates Castaneda? I’ve read all his books, and his writings have had a huge influence on my life. People usually respond to this with, “you know he was a fraud, right?!?”, and my response is, “does it matter?”.
When I starting reading his books, I felt a truth resonating through me that I had never known before. Whether Don Juan was real or not, I feel strongly that Carlos did in fact have a teacher, and that he was approaching (or did achieve) a mastery of sorcery. I guess you could say a form of enlightenment.
I’d played with meditation and hallucinogens (and of course cannabis) in my early 20’s, but I felt like I had experienced and felt so many things that I couldn’t wrap my mind around. I couldn’t find anything in my life experiences, or American culture in general, to relate them to. Castaneda was like a breath of fresh air. Now, his writings are not my end-all-be-all by any means, but they sure helped steer me in a more positive direction in my life. Opened a lot of doors.
The concept of stalking still blows my mind. Still trying to understand it. But if you’ve read about the art of stalking, I think that a lot of the “fraud” surrounding Castaneda suddenly seems a little more palpable ;), and maybe even necessary.
Curious what experiences others have had with Castaneda’s writings!
When I starting reading his books, I felt a truth resonating through me that I had never known before. Whether Don Juan was real or not, I feel strongly that Carlos did in fact have a teacher, and that he was approaching (or did achieve) a mastery of sorcery. I guess you could say a form of enlightenment.
I’d played with meditation and hallucinogens (and of course cannabis) in my early 20’s, but I felt like I had experienced and felt so many things that I couldn’t wrap my mind around. I couldn’t find anything in my life experiences, or American culture in general, to relate them to. Castaneda was like a breath of fresh air. Now, his writings are not my end-all-be-all by any means, but they sure helped steer me in a more positive direction in my life. Opened a lot of doors.
The concept of stalking still blows my mind. Still trying to understand it. But if you’ve read about the art of stalking, I think that a lot of the “fraud” surrounding Castaneda suddenly seems a little more palpable ;), and maybe even necessary.
Curious what experiences others have had with Castaneda’s writings!