Thread: Castaneda's "Not Doing"

Wow, this has just blown my mind. I truly believe that the reason I have been good/productive at LDing since day 1 is because I rarely do "routine" things. I'm one of those people that don't like to plan ahead. I often go places and do things on the spur of the moment. I also change plans that I already have quite often, lol. I never shower/eat/get dressed at the same time as previous days. I'm very unorganized and random. Really the only routine thing I do is smoke. That is a nice observation Cusp.

Is this really a Castaneda thing? It sounds like general awareness, to me. I'm not a real fan, but I don't remember him making a point about this. I always took his "not doing" as an existentialist view of the world.

Originally Posted by Robot_Butler

Is this really a Castaneda thing? It sounds like general awareness, to me. I'm not a real fan, but I don't remember him making a point about this. I always took his "not doing" as an existentialist view of the world.

I agree, this is more common sense in a manner of speaking, not something anyone can take credit for.

I can see how it all relates. Especially with the holistic view of the world and dreaming that you seem to share, Cusp. The idea that stopping thought can let you more fully experience the world is common to many philosophies. I just never, specifically, got the connection to dreaming from Castaneda's writings. That is probably my oversight. Like I said, I was never that into his stuff.

Which book would you suggest I re-read to get a better picture of this concept? I'm way into this from a Buddhist perspective, and would love to get a fresh view on it.

i really enjoyed that post. nice work Cusp!

Originally Posted by Robot_Butler

Which book would you suggest I re-read to get a better picture of this concept? I'm way into this from a Buddhist perspective, and would love to get a fresh view on it.

Beats me, been too long since I read them all. I doubt there is any one of his books that goes into it that much, since Castaneda himself didn't seem to understand what it was about. To him it was only something he was told to do.

this topic inspired a quote i just came up with.
"How can you be aware that you're dreaming, if you're never aware that you're awake?"

Originally Posted by JamesLD

this topic inspired a quote i just came up with.
"How can you be aware that you're dreaming, if you're never aware that you're awake?"

I like that!

Originally Posted by The Cusp

Beats me, been too long since I read them all. I doubt there is any one of his books that goes into it that much, since Castaneda himself didn't seem to understand what it was about. To him it was only something he was told to do.

Told by whom?

Don Juan Matus do not exist. He is fiction.

It is quite obvious when one uses critical analysis, the plagiarism is extensive, the obvious errors about the Yaqui people and traditions, and the logical and chronological errors in his narrative.

Now, you can accept his concepts and philosophies and still see his work as creative fiction, but ignoring the blatant lie is

Originally Posted by Specialis Sapientia

Told by whom?

Don Juan Matus do not exist. He is fiction.

It is quite obvious when one uses critical analysis, the plagiarism is extensive, the obvious errors about the Yaqui people and traditions, and the logical and chronological errors in his narrative.

Now, you can accept his concepts and philosophies and still see his work as creative fiction, but ignoring the blatant lie is

That's not what this thread is about in the least.

Originally Posted by Robot_Butler

Is this really a Castaneda thing? It sounds like general awareness, to me.

Quite. Actually no need to mention Castaneda at all in the initial section.

But then most cults do like to plant kernels of truth into the bullshit to sweeten the pill.