Thread: Carlos Castaneda Books...

The books are written mostly chronologically. With the order being this:

• The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge (1968)
• A Separate Reality: Further Conversations with Don Juan (1971)
• Journey to Ixtlan: The Lessons of Don Juan (1972)
• Tales of Power (1975)
• The Second Ring of Power (1977)
• The Eagle's Gift (1981)
• The Fire from Within (1984)
• The Power of Silence: Further Lessons of Don Juan (1987)
• The Art of Dreaming(1993)

The first one I read was "A Separate Reality" but if I were to do it again, I would recommend that you read them in order.

ill prob get some flare, but anyway...

i read all of Castanedas books (except "the fire from within"), but i came to suspect he's a fraud...later i've seen he'd been indeed exposed as a fraud... i wouldnt waste my time with his books, except for the fun... he's not entirely wrong in some concepts, because he borrows from ancient known sources of mystical knowledge, but what he does is mix everything in a ridiculous giberish... he's stories seem almost like hollywood scripts, and every book gets worse than the previous...

if you have a lot of time to spare and want to check for yourself, have a blast

TBW

Well man.. just goes to show that "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing". What you write doesn't ring true. If indeed it is "ridiculous giberish" (sic), why did you make your way through all the books? Castaneda has sold millions of books, and millions of people are out there who would disagree with you. I find it hard to believe that you have "proof" that he has "indeed been exposed as a fraud" as any "proof" that I have encountered has been shallow conjecture.. nothing has been proven.

If you read "The Art of Dreaming" and try out the techniques therein, you would see that as far as LDing goes, Castaneda nailed it. He makes LaBerge look like an amateur..

..but obviously you haven't.

I dont think so, i mean i read "the art of dreaming" followed by "the power of silence" and still enjoyed them a lot.

I dont really care if he is a fraud or not, the knowledge you get from the books can still be useful, fun, interesting etc.

Originally Posted by TravelerBetweenWorlds

ill prob get some flare, but anyway...

i read all of Castanedas books (except "the fire from within"), but i came to suspect he's a fraud...later i've seen he'd been indeed exposed as a fraud... i wouldnt waste my time with his books, except for the fun... he's not entirely wrong in some concepts, because he borrows from ancient known sources of mystical knowledge, but what he does is mix everything in a ridiculous giberish... he's stories seem almost like hollywood scripts, and every book gets worse than the previous...

if you have a lot of time to spare and want to check for yourself, have a blast

TBW

He's not entirely wrong in some concepts? What do you mean by being wrong in a concept?

He mixes everything in a ridiculous giberish?

What does he mix? I'm not saying he isn't, or that he is. I just want to know what do you think he's mixing...

He's stories seem like hollywood scripts... is that bad? From your sentence, it seems as thought it were something bad...

Originally Posted by polmc

He's stories seem like hollywood scripts... is that bad? From your sentence, it seems as thought it were something bad...

Its bad because its supposedly a true story.

hmm ok, i take that "ridiculous giberish" (sic, forgive my bad english, im not american) perhaps is a strong term... i'd say more of a "hollywood-type" of writing...

I never said i had "PROOF" (look for that word in my post) that he was a fraud, i said i've seen he was exposed in the internet (i dont recall where, i just recall it was someone who was a coleague of him at the university, and attested that he NEVER traveled to meet any sourcerer in mexico during those years, also someone who suposedly wrote a book with an interview of CC and later revealed it was ghostwriten and CC was never interviewed at all).

The "bad" thing about his books sounding like scripts is that real life is hardly like that. Somnum pointed out well.

I read his books because i was a teenager looking for fun and amusement, my mother had them at home, i never liked TV, and i had too much free time back then (ah, the good old days... )

About the mixing: he takes concepts and practices from old shamanic traditions, he takes things from yoga practices, he takes things from magick backgrounds (like Crowley) and mix it all into Don Juan's "teachings"... thats why i said he's not completly wrong, because he actually takes things that are valid in its respective traditions, and even effective! Im not saying the books have NO value, im saying i dont believe a word of it to be "real" true, point.

"Not being wrong in a concept" = some concept he taught is valid/effective, like using your hands to gain lucidity... or pressing the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth etc.

Also his recolection of events is almost super-human when you think about it... the details and dialogues and stuff...

I've taken some mind altering substances - LSD, mushrooms, ayauasca (known as 'Santo Daime' here in Brazil), and it just doesnt fit his descriptions, sorry.

Thats just my opinion, im not the owner of the truth!

best regards
TBW

Just one last thing:

quotes Oneiro:
"He makes LaBerge look like an amateur.."

Hmmm you mean LaBerge the PhD at Stanford who proved LDing scientifically? The guy who is considered the "father" of modern LDing? The guy who invented and outlined techniques like WILD, DILD, RC, and machines like the novadreamer etc? And you mean, Castaneda, the guy who wont even show up his face in public?

yeah right...

Yeah.. I mean LaBerge, the guy who got everything from Castaneda 17 years after the event.

I've read them all. The first 4 are the best, after that, well, they seemed to lose that edge. Read them carefully, question everything, take that which is good, throw the rest away.

"The Art of Dreaming" is a good read, it's full of interesting ideas to try while lucid dreaming.