Carlos Castaneda: A Separate Reality

[PsycheSmirk]

I have been reading this book (A Separate Reality), and I have come to the part where Castaneda smokes don Juan's "little smoke" (a cactus extract I think it said?) and sees the "Guardian" of the other world, which is apparently a gnat. Castaneda, however, sees it as a huge, 100ft. drooling beast who can inflict physical pain on him.

This confuses me.
It says that before Castaneda starts going into the trip, he sees a gnat fly up to his face. How is it that there just happens to be a gnat at the very moment he's about to enter that other realm? I mean... unless don Juan had a ton of gnats in his house, but it just seems strange to me. This sounds like a stupid question, because it is. It's pretty moot-point. But what if he had seen, say, a fly, or a bee, or a butterfly etc. before going into the realm?

In your own opinion, why do you think the Guardian is a gnat, and why/how does it cause physical pain to Castaneda?

 

[Caduceus Mercurius]

You're asking a question about a fictional novel, and you want us to answer?

 

[PsycheSmirk]

It is not fictional.
You haven't heard of the teachings of don Juan?

 

[druglessdouglas]

its fiction. read the whole series and it becomes obvious

 

[PsycheSmirk]

Shit, hahaha. Well that just about ruins the train of my thoughts.

Well, the book is still interesting nonetheless.

 

[druglessdouglas]

with the exception of the last one they are still worth reading

 

[spice]

Particularly the first two.

Casteneda probably did experiment with those substances, to whatever degree, and was inspired to write the early books. They were so successful that he then digressed off into the later, lesser ones, which were much more novelistic and formulaic.

By the way, the 'little smoke' was mushrooms.

 

[magickmumu]

Check out this BBC documentary on Castaneda

http://video.google.nl/videoplay?docid= ... neda&hl=nl

 

[druglessdouglas]

strangely enough ive met the Gnat God several times on mushrooms and even communicated with it though not in words. good special effects!

anybody who picks wild mushrooms will be familiar with the gnat. you see them around even before the mushrooms are above ground. ive even eaten their babies.

smoking a chillum full of mushrooms was by far the most nausiating experience of my life, and ive eaten worms and insects (grasshoppers are very nice BTW)

 

[GOD]

I think the last one was the best one . It put the others in perspective and brought the series back into reality . I think its called "The power of silence" .

The books are pure fiction but very good if you read them and dont believe everything to mean what you think it does . Thats a lot of what they are about . Its a lot about balancing the world of reality = things that can be explained , and things that one can feel , has to acept and cant be explained .

I am sure that castaneda never had any psychedelic drugs . One only needs to read his explenations and one sees his reports are second hand . ( An example . There is someone in the saliva thread who claims to have had a lot of salvia . He has never had it . His descriptions are either stolen from other sites or have no conection to the effects of saliva ) .

"They were so successful that he then digressed off into the later, lesser ones, which were much more novelistic and formulaic" .

Agree . After the first few books it was obvious that he hadnt got a clue what he was talking about and started to get WIERD . I thought maybe hes trying to get rid of the cult of blindness that people make out oif his work .

If you put it in context you will see that R.G.Wasson had just discovered a new cult / philosophy about indios and mushrooms . He just followed by inventing a personal philosophy that loosly fitted together . How could his tutors reject his work ? How could he fail to get his degree ? It was all fiction .


SO . Dont take it all seriously . The gnat is irelevant . You are in the same position as him . He couldnt stop trying to clasify things , Understand things . Quantify things . So much that he understood nothing . He had to be tricked into seeing himself . Read each book and wait 6 months before you read the next . In that 6 months read the book again . The first few books are realy good , the next few are over the top and the last one he ties loose ends together and explains what he was realy trying to point out .

If you dont understand me or have questions please ask and i will explain .

 

[Forkbender]

I only read the first book and wasn't that impressed. Maybe I wasn't susceptible to the implicit ideas behind it, but I didn't really think much of it.

What can we learn from following the method you propose, GOD?

 

[GOD]

"What can we learn from following the method you propose, GOD?"

I proposed it for the person who started this thread because he is obviously interested in the theme and seems to want to learn somethiong from the auther . I also said what i think a lot of the purpose of the series is about above . Everyone has different needs and needs to learn different things so i cant say what a person might learn from it .

I think that the series shook the world in its way . It changed a lot of peoples lives . Mostly for the good . They started thinking . And isnt that the way most problems are solved ?

 

[Forkbender]

Fair enough.

 

[spice]

After many years passed since I had read the first few (given to me by my father when I was a teenager) I went back and gave it all a second look, after evolving into the person I am now, and, I must say, much of his message reminded me of zen, and I agree, GOD, much of had to do with his (Casteneda)
incessant questioning and attempts to understand everything in a rational, Westernized manner. Juan Matus (Don Juan) plays the role of zen master to almost perfection, frequently berating Carlos about his stupidity and hardheadedness, always very stern, but always helping, even when his help didn't seem to be help, and was uncomfortable.

One of the good points that were made was what concerns the so-called 'internal monologue' and the stopping it, which was referred to as 'stopping the world'......this concept has some valididity, and is worth studying with an open mind...the book is not wothless, it's just not an anthropological non-fiction work, as it was first presented.

 

[GOD]

" Juan Matus (Don Juan) plays the role of zen master to almost perfection, frequently berating Carlos about his stupidity and hardheadedness, always very stern, but always helping, even when his help didn't seem to be help, and was uncomfortable."










WOW !!!! That sounds like .......... ME .....................

 

[spice]

...cool.....

 

[Brugmansia]

I wouldn't recommended Casteneda's work if you haven't done a proper dose of cactus, or when you aren't attracted to his material. Otherwise the words are often just floating around in the air, and shrinking through your fingers as sand. Or, they might even come across as an attempt to manipulate you and push you into certain directions.

It's nothing like McKenna, Hofmann, Strassman, Larry, Turner who's motive is to provide you a stable bridge to stand on. You shouldn't compare or measure Casteneda's work with them, he has written his books for a completely different purpose. Harsh and frustrating, yet exactly what you need to hear.

His writings are often considered as too vague, and some of the written phases are simply lied. Some of them are true as cloudless glass. That's going to be the greatest teaching in anthropology for a man, in his path to become a man of strength, yet getting softer at the same time.

It's even true that some can get indoctrinated, if you don't feel attracted to his work, then don't read it. Chances of unwanted activity within your core is real.

Rationally speaking, the normal life is no different than from where you're pulled into through reading Casteneda's work.

 

[PsycheSmirk]

Thanks everyone for helping to clarify things for me.

I was pretty confused. The back of the book says "nonfiction" in the upper left hand corner, so I was just like... 'wait, WHAT?'

I'm still going to read the books. I just won't take them as seriously.

 

[GOD]

I think if you liked the first bit you should read all the books . Most people after a few pages put themselves in castanedas position and start asking questions and thinking about it like you have . Thats also what its about . Seeing . Thinking . Or better said getting people to open their minds .