Страница:
three cornerstones:
"(1) how we present ourselves in the world, how we fit into
the social structure. The recapitulation lets you think
about all this, how you fit in, it is a looking glass of how
others see you in your hopes and fears. All this takes
energy. The warrior looks instead at what he or she is doing
the face of death and what conduct, what intensity is really
appropriate in that light.
"(2) the second cornerstone is our biological need to mate
and to reproduce. We are social animals. Sorcerers say - let
the others do it. Sorcerers need the energy that goes into
the social dance and biological need to get their freedom.
We refuse to be the flower that blooms -and dies - to
propagate the species. Security of the family is one of the
strongest attractions to the social order. There is a
tremendous fear of being alone, of dying alone. Sorcerers
have to learn to be ALONE for long stretches, which is why
Don Juan and the others would test us by keeping us alone,
on our own, to see how we handled solitude. Why are you so
afraid to have no moives, no friends. It is also important
to learn to keep mental silence, mental solitude, for long
periods. The world will then collapse on its own without the
inner talk! Dreaming is also very alone, facing the dangers
in the dreaming world alone.
"We are talking about STOPPING tonight and have to get used
to solitude. As women we just don't want to be an old maid,
a bitter old maid with a mole and whiskers on her cheek as
was held up to me. We learn these things, the need to be
beautiful to ctch a good mate and we fund the entire
cosmetics industry with our fears and worries. In
recapitulation we have a chance to see this and to look for
alternatives."
"The warrior's way [is not to get trapped in the biological
imperative to mate and the social dance motivated by
loneliness it] is to give unbounded affection instead, not
to count the number of affairs we have or be in a
relationship and daydream about alternatives that would be
even better for us. A warrior's affection so transcends the
social order that the warrior can move to any other position
of the assemblage point, even an unknown universe and still
be full of affection. So don't be afraid to chip away at
this second cornerstone of everday reality, that if you do
so you won't have any affections or feelings left.
"The third cornerstone of ordinary reality is very sublte;
it is self importance. We joked about putting out a bumper
sticker 'Self-importance kills' because a false sense of
self importance, when undercut, is a great source of suicide
and illness not to mention taking away from a zest for
living. Everyone manifests self importance one way or
another, either by wanting to be best in something or by
wanting to play the martyr and be the worst - the use my
bones as stepping stones to your own glory syndrome. Don't
substitute false humility or false modesty for pride about
your self importance. The important thing to realize is that
you are no MORE and no LESS important than any other living
thing. To think otherwise is like one ant in a heap carrying
an especially big load and thinking it is the most
important, the best ant when in a moment I will step on that
ant and all his companions and they will be equal in their
death. Something will 'step' on all of us someday, just like
one of us might step on an ant hill. We are all equal and
self importance is nothing but a reward from the social
order of everyday reality, like the drip of a drug into your
brain to keep you hooked on the social order. It is better
to save your energy and take your freedom instead.
"The 'Selector.' A very simple mechanical model of a needle
pointing in a certain direction and we get our engergy
configuration lined up at a new assemblage point. The
Selector does it all for you if you have enough energy it
pulls certain things in the universe down to you. Once you
have restored your energy by the recapitulation there is no
need for chanting or special rituals to move your assemblage
point. Where why how the Selector moves the assemblage point
we don't know all we can do is acquiesce in the movement,
act implacably under the terrible pressure of the Selector.
"Stalking. I - stalkers in general - use behavior to move
the assemblage point to create maximum cognitive
dissonance." "You cannot choose where to move your
assemblage point when you are living as a stalker because if
you choose you will not have enough cognitive dissonance
between the old point and the new point to work with. This
is why warriors are under tremendous pressure, because the
Selector - or spirit - chooses difficult new positions that
are so scary or different that sometimes the assemblage
point of the warrior, when subjected to the pressure to
move, starts vibrating in place, you can see this
energetically. If the warrior lapses into an internal dialog
about what is going on, then the point will not relocate it
will snap back to its normal position which for you is
ordinary reality.
"It takes tremendous pressure to move the point and what you
need to do is to keep the pressure up but it should be
harmonious pressure or you culd actually go crazy. Once you
have energy and unbending intent the point will move very
easily with no problems and after you do the recapitulation
it will move sometimes and you won't even be aware of it.
"I had certain tasks chosen for me by the Selector. I had to
completely live as different people, this was not just
acting during the day or being aware you are acting it was
complete immersion in a new self. 24 hours a day. You ARE
that new person. Let me be Sheila Waters for you. [Puts on
wig and eyeglasses.] I have to wear eyeglasses when I am
Sheila Waters.
"Sheila Waters was pointed out to me by the Selector (spirit
or whatever you want to call it) I had to become a business
woman, get an MBA, real estate license, paralegal, invest in
commodities, keep business relationships with attorneys and
accountants and all the other people in the business world.
I got things done and made and lost fortunes. Because when
you are in that assemblage position there is a natural
desire to succeed, not fail, so naturally the tendency is to
try to make lots of money, not just stand still or lose
money. If you are not impeccable it is easy to lose money by
not listening to your own inner voice. I decided that I had
to have some really great timber land in the north and it
was really great land perfect in every way; except that it
was near Mt. St. Helena and when the volcano blew up it was
ruined. I used to read the Wall Street Journal and watch
Ruyckhaueser [spelling?].
"Other personas. [Takes off glasses and wig.] In Mexico I
was under Emilito's supervision he was more of a guardian or
spectator than a teacher, would not interfere with the roles
the Selector chose for me. I was Ricky, the first position
chosen for me, an American gringo male trying to pass
himself off as a Mexican. I dressed in mans clothing, passed
for a man, romanced a lady and even used the urinals. Don't
ask me to tell you what I had to do to use the urinals, I
will put it in my new book Stalking the Double.
"The second assemblage point chosen for me was a young
ingenue from Texas, niece of some women in Mexico who were
of course really the women sorcerers from Don Juan's party.
I had blonde hair by choice and would parade in the square
waiting to attract men to this virginal thing, because of
course I had to be a virgin, and the blonde hair was very
startling and attractive.
"It is essential to be absolutely fluid. That is the point
of all the not-doing exercises, so that you can be
absolutely fluid and when the Selector moves your assemblage
point you will have the Discipline to be able to fix it at
its new location.
"You cannot view yourself as just a cynical manipulator of
behavior, acting out one role then another. It must be real
to you, absolutely real.
"Next I was a crazy beggar. Sat on the church steps bitten
by fleas and mosquitos all day but although I am allergic to
bites in my role as a crazy beggar woman I did not care, did
not mind them at all. I was a crazy female outcast beggar so
I had 4 strikes against me and all the time in the world to
just sit there and watch the world go by because no one
noticed me or cared."
"To conclude. Nothing is real, just a manipulation of
behaviour, just a result of the accidental fixation of our
assemblage point at birth. That is what the stalker learns
from being so many different people. Each position is
equally real and hence equally phantoms. We cherish our
present positions, but even the closest, most real ones are
just phantoms when you move to another postion.
"It took years of recapitulation to undermine the sense of
reality . At the same time I had to replace reality with the
warrior's way to avoid the trap of cynicism. Turn my
response to the world into controlled folly, the warrior's
delight!
"If ou have the energy all the things it [Selector, spirit]
puts around you become things of beauty and strength, in the
highest sense your life becomes surrounded by a display of
living art.
"Remember that you are already dead, already a phantom like
everything else, and lose your sense of self importance.
"Know beyond a shadow of a doubt that nothing is real."
[Questions & answers; questions inaudible in the garden.]
"After the recapitulation and not doing, then you can see.
"Moving into another complete band of the luminous egg is
like dying, because the glow of your awareness in the
everyday world has gone out. Awareness is still with you but
you are perceiving a different reality. To the ordinary
reality world you are gone, dead.
"There are similarities between Chinese acupuncture theory
and the sorcerer's description of the luminous body. If you
draw the main body meridians they form an egg like the
sorcerers describe. Also Chinese theory is that you are born
with a limited supply of intrinsic energy, same view as
sorcerers. We think that the assemblage point in the embryo
is in the embryo and only relocates outside the embryo when
the Ushers bring in the ordinary reality. Also some people
are born more energetically powerful than others. For
example if both parents are energetic and the baby is raised
on the mother's milk. But don't worry if you were not born
with a special abundance of energy, you have all you need if
you will be careful with it. Also you will get extra jolts
when your assemblage point moves. We just need to be more
disciplined to guard our energy. It really does not take
much energy anyway to move the point.
"Nietsche said whatever doesn't kill me makes me stronger.
That is how sorcerers think. But otherwise be careful of
philosophers because they are famous crazy self indulgers.
"Recapitulation. There is no method. There is a method but
it is not important whether you move your head from right to
left or from left to right or set aside a regular time or a
lot of time. What is important is the unbending intent to
recapitulate. Then spirit will guide you into the right form
and time and amount of practice. With intent, time will set
itself. When you make the right intent, you will have 27
generations of sorcerers behind you. They did not all
practice the recapitulation the same way, but their intent
will hook you support you and guide you. The intent out
there to recapitulate is constant but the method varies.
Therefore:
"1. Intend it.
"2. Have an integrity about it - don't brag or compete
(competition is the worst thing in the world, it is a
primary support for the third cornerstone of everyday
reality, the sense of self importance).
"3. Discipline order harmoney. Don't be random unless you
intend it. Most people make a list and work backwards.
"4. Breath. Direction not important. What is important is
using the breath to pull the energy back.
"Letter came to Carlos Castaneda - 'I recapitulated last
night. Can I join your party now?' Recapitulation takes a
lifetime, not a night."
[end of transcription. By Swedenborg@aol.com]
LK> I got a disarming book recently called "The Don Juan Papers". It is a
LK> supposed expose of the entire series by Carlos Castenada.
LK> Anyone else read and follows these works? There's some amazing and
LK> probing ideas there.
All I know about this case is what I've read in Cornerstone
magazine (Vol. 19 Issue 93, p.24), in part 3 or a series by Bob
Passantino, called "Fantasies, Legends, Heroes: a discussion of
popular 'legends' and how they arise." I'll quote the relevant
section:
Christians aren't the only ones who accept legends substituted
for real research. Those of you who are around my age and who
remember (or were even part of) the 1960s age of "drug
enlightenment" probably remember Carlos Castaneda as the
anthropologist who discovered that hallucinatory drugs supposedly
bring spiritual enlightenment.
He didn't do it the way many of my generation did, by dropping
acid, staring into a flower, and suddenly realizing that
everything is "God."
He did it by allegedly spending portions of several years in the
American Southwest and Mexican deserts as an apprentice to an
Indian shaman.
UCLA awarded Castaneda a Ph.D. in anthropology in 1973 for his
fieldwork and ethnography dissertation on Native American
shamanism. "The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yacqui Way of Knowledge"
represents that work and is known worldwide for its vivid
portrayal of Castneda's apprenticehip to the shaman, Don Juan.
However, practically nothing about Castaneda, including his name,
birth date, and original nationality, is what it appears to be.
In fact, careful investigation and analysis shows that his books
represent more of the Castaneda his college friend described as
"witty, imaginative, cheerful--a big liar and a real friend"*1
than they do Castaneda as the serious anthropologist and reporter
who sacrifices himself for scientific ethnographic research.
Like most legends, the Castaneda legend is missing dates, times,
people, places, and documents. Careful research and investigation
uncovered gaping holes, inconsistencies, and outright
fabrications in the convoluted stories Castaneda told in his four
books *2.
But the reason I mention the Castaneda legend particularly is
that I would never have expected the professional reaction to the
expose. Rather than relegating his books to the legend shelf,
some professionals STILL depend on them for ethnographic
information, and still herald him as the father of the
ethnographic "revolution" in anthropology!
What is most interesting is the response that has greeted
the revelation that Castaneda's works are fictional.
First, there has been no real attempt to revoke his
Ph.D., based as it is on fraudulent "research."
Secondly, as de Mille ... documents, the response among
many anthropologists and others who share the Don Juan
type of philosophical outlook has been neutral.
In other words, it doesn't matter if the works are
fictional because the underlying philosophy is, in some
vague sense, true.
An excellent example of this approach is Shelburne's
(1987) article titled "Carlos Castaneda: If It Didn't
Happen, What Does It Matter?"
Shelburne argues that "the issue of whether it
[Castaneda's experience] literally happened or not makes
no fundamental difference to the truth of the account"
(p. 217). Such excuses are little more than intellectual
used-car salesmanship. *3
Let's relate this back to our legend/research paradigm. Castaneda
BASED his "revolutionary" cultural anthropological ideas on
FICTION *4.
That's like building a house on sinking sand instead of solid
rock. Now Shelburne and other professional like him say it
doesn't matter, because the "truth" is the same. That's like
saying your sinking house is fine where it is--the house itself
is well built. But no matter how well built the house is, it will
fall apart since it's built on sand instead of solid ground.
You need BOTH as well-built house AND solid ground if you expect
to live in the house.
*1 Richard de Mille, "Castaneda's Journey" (Santa Barbara, CA:
Capra Press, 1976), 26.
*2 The most comprehensive investigation was done by Richard de
Mille and is contained in "Castaneda's Journey (see above
note) and the book de Mille later edited, "The Don Juan
Papers: Further Castaneda Controversies (Santa Barbara, CA:
Ross-Erickson Publishers, 1980).
*3 Terence-Hines, "Pseudoscience and the Paranormal" (Buffalo,
NY: Prometheus Press, 1988), 278.
*4 If there is any truth to Castaneda's anthropological theories,
it would be in spite of his fantasies, not because of them.
[End Quote]
"(1) how we present ourselves in the world, how we fit into
the social structure. The recapitulation lets you think
about all this, how you fit in, it is a looking glass of how
others see you in your hopes and fears. All this takes
energy. The warrior looks instead at what he or she is doing
the face of death and what conduct, what intensity is really
appropriate in that light.
"(2) the second cornerstone is our biological need to mate
and to reproduce. We are social animals. Sorcerers say - let
the others do it. Sorcerers need the energy that goes into
the social dance and biological need to get their freedom.
We refuse to be the flower that blooms -and dies - to
propagate the species. Security of the family is one of the
strongest attractions to the social order. There is a
tremendous fear of being alone, of dying alone. Sorcerers
have to learn to be ALONE for long stretches, which is why
Don Juan and the others would test us by keeping us alone,
on our own, to see how we handled solitude. Why are you so
afraid to have no moives, no friends. It is also important
to learn to keep mental silence, mental solitude, for long
periods. The world will then collapse on its own without the
inner talk! Dreaming is also very alone, facing the dangers
in the dreaming world alone.
"We are talking about STOPPING tonight and have to get used
to solitude. As women we just don't want to be an old maid,
a bitter old maid with a mole and whiskers on her cheek as
was held up to me. We learn these things, the need to be
beautiful to ctch a good mate and we fund the entire
cosmetics industry with our fears and worries. In
recapitulation we have a chance to see this and to look for
alternatives."
"The warrior's way [is not to get trapped in the biological
imperative to mate and the social dance motivated by
loneliness it] is to give unbounded affection instead, not
to count the number of affairs we have or be in a
relationship and daydream about alternatives that would be
even better for us. A warrior's affection so transcends the
social order that the warrior can move to any other position
of the assemblage point, even an unknown universe and still
be full of affection. So don't be afraid to chip away at
this second cornerstone of everday reality, that if you do
so you won't have any affections or feelings left.
"The third cornerstone of ordinary reality is very sublte;
it is self importance. We joked about putting out a bumper
sticker 'Self-importance kills' because a false sense of
self importance, when undercut, is a great source of suicide
and illness not to mention taking away from a zest for
living. Everyone manifests self importance one way or
another, either by wanting to be best in something or by
wanting to play the martyr and be the worst - the use my
bones as stepping stones to your own glory syndrome. Don't
substitute false humility or false modesty for pride about
your self importance. The important thing to realize is that
you are no MORE and no LESS important than any other living
thing. To think otherwise is like one ant in a heap carrying
an especially big load and thinking it is the most
important, the best ant when in a moment I will step on that
ant and all his companions and they will be equal in their
death. Something will 'step' on all of us someday, just like
one of us might step on an ant hill. We are all equal and
self importance is nothing but a reward from the social
order of everyday reality, like the drip of a drug into your
brain to keep you hooked on the social order. It is better
to save your energy and take your freedom instead.
"The 'Selector.' A very simple mechanical model of a needle
pointing in a certain direction and we get our engergy
configuration lined up at a new assemblage point. The
Selector does it all for you if you have enough energy it
pulls certain things in the universe down to you. Once you
have restored your energy by the recapitulation there is no
need for chanting or special rituals to move your assemblage
point. Where why how the Selector moves the assemblage point
we don't know all we can do is acquiesce in the movement,
act implacably under the terrible pressure of the Selector.
"Stalking. I - stalkers in general - use behavior to move
the assemblage point to create maximum cognitive
dissonance." "You cannot choose where to move your
assemblage point when you are living as a stalker because if
you choose you will not have enough cognitive dissonance
between the old point and the new point to work with. This
is why warriors are under tremendous pressure, because the
Selector - or spirit - chooses difficult new positions that
are so scary or different that sometimes the assemblage
point of the warrior, when subjected to the pressure to
move, starts vibrating in place, you can see this
energetically. If the warrior lapses into an internal dialog
about what is going on, then the point will not relocate it
will snap back to its normal position which for you is
ordinary reality.
"It takes tremendous pressure to move the point and what you
need to do is to keep the pressure up but it should be
harmonious pressure or you culd actually go crazy. Once you
have energy and unbending intent the point will move very
easily with no problems and after you do the recapitulation
it will move sometimes and you won't even be aware of it.
"I had certain tasks chosen for me by the Selector. I had to
completely live as different people, this was not just
acting during the day or being aware you are acting it was
complete immersion in a new self. 24 hours a day. You ARE
that new person. Let me be Sheila Waters for you. [Puts on
wig and eyeglasses.] I have to wear eyeglasses when I am
Sheila Waters.
"Sheila Waters was pointed out to me by the Selector (spirit
or whatever you want to call it) I had to become a business
woman, get an MBA, real estate license, paralegal, invest in
commodities, keep business relationships with attorneys and
accountants and all the other people in the business world.
I got things done and made and lost fortunes. Because when
you are in that assemblage position there is a natural
desire to succeed, not fail, so naturally the tendency is to
try to make lots of money, not just stand still or lose
money. If you are not impeccable it is easy to lose money by
not listening to your own inner voice. I decided that I had
to have some really great timber land in the north and it
was really great land perfect in every way; except that it
was near Mt. St. Helena and when the volcano blew up it was
ruined. I used to read the Wall Street Journal and watch
Ruyckhaueser [spelling?].
"Other personas. [Takes off glasses and wig.] In Mexico I
was under Emilito's supervision he was more of a guardian or
spectator than a teacher, would not interfere with the roles
the Selector chose for me. I was Ricky, the first position
chosen for me, an American gringo male trying to pass
himself off as a Mexican. I dressed in mans clothing, passed
for a man, romanced a lady and even used the urinals. Don't
ask me to tell you what I had to do to use the urinals, I
will put it in my new book Stalking the Double.
"The second assemblage point chosen for me was a young
ingenue from Texas, niece of some women in Mexico who were
of course really the women sorcerers from Don Juan's party.
I had blonde hair by choice and would parade in the square
waiting to attract men to this virginal thing, because of
course I had to be a virgin, and the blonde hair was very
startling and attractive.
"It is essential to be absolutely fluid. That is the point
of all the not-doing exercises, so that you can be
absolutely fluid and when the Selector moves your assemblage
point you will have the Discipline to be able to fix it at
its new location.
"You cannot view yourself as just a cynical manipulator of
behavior, acting out one role then another. It must be real
to you, absolutely real.
"Next I was a crazy beggar. Sat on the church steps bitten
by fleas and mosquitos all day but although I am allergic to
bites in my role as a crazy beggar woman I did not care, did
not mind them at all. I was a crazy female outcast beggar so
I had 4 strikes against me and all the time in the world to
just sit there and watch the world go by because no one
noticed me or cared."
"To conclude. Nothing is real, just a manipulation of
behaviour, just a result of the accidental fixation of our
assemblage point at birth. That is what the stalker learns
from being so many different people. Each position is
equally real and hence equally phantoms. We cherish our
present positions, but even the closest, most real ones are
just phantoms when you move to another postion.
"It took years of recapitulation to undermine the sense of
reality . At the same time I had to replace reality with the
warrior's way to avoid the trap of cynicism. Turn my
response to the world into controlled folly, the warrior's
delight!
"If ou have the energy all the things it [Selector, spirit]
puts around you become things of beauty and strength, in the
highest sense your life becomes surrounded by a display of
living art.
"Remember that you are already dead, already a phantom like
everything else, and lose your sense of self importance.
"Know beyond a shadow of a doubt that nothing is real."
[Questions & answers; questions inaudible in the garden.]
"After the recapitulation and not doing, then you can see.
"Moving into another complete band of the luminous egg is
like dying, because the glow of your awareness in the
everyday world has gone out. Awareness is still with you but
you are perceiving a different reality. To the ordinary
reality world you are gone, dead.
"There are similarities between Chinese acupuncture theory
and the sorcerer's description of the luminous body. If you
draw the main body meridians they form an egg like the
sorcerers describe. Also Chinese theory is that you are born
with a limited supply of intrinsic energy, same view as
sorcerers. We think that the assemblage point in the embryo
is in the embryo and only relocates outside the embryo when
the Ushers bring in the ordinary reality. Also some people
are born more energetically powerful than others. For
example if both parents are energetic and the baby is raised
on the mother's milk. But don't worry if you were not born
with a special abundance of energy, you have all you need if
you will be careful with it. Also you will get extra jolts
when your assemblage point moves. We just need to be more
disciplined to guard our energy. It really does not take
much energy anyway to move the point.
"Nietsche said whatever doesn't kill me makes me stronger.
That is how sorcerers think. But otherwise be careful of
philosophers because they are famous crazy self indulgers.
"Recapitulation. There is no method. There is a method but
it is not important whether you move your head from right to
left or from left to right or set aside a regular time or a
lot of time. What is important is the unbending intent to
recapitulate. Then spirit will guide you into the right form
and time and amount of practice. With intent, time will set
itself. When you make the right intent, you will have 27
generations of sorcerers behind you. They did not all
practice the recapitulation the same way, but their intent
will hook you support you and guide you. The intent out
there to recapitulate is constant but the method varies.
Therefore:
"1. Intend it.
"2. Have an integrity about it - don't brag or compete
(competition is the worst thing in the world, it is a
primary support for the third cornerstone of everyday
reality, the sense of self importance).
"3. Discipline order harmoney. Don't be random unless you
intend it. Most people make a list and work backwards.
"4. Breath. Direction not important. What is important is
using the breath to pull the energy back.
"Letter came to Carlos Castaneda - 'I recapitulated last
night. Can I join your party now?' Recapitulation takes a
lifetime, not a night."
[end of transcription. By Swedenborg@aol.com]
LK> I got a disarming book recently called "The Don Juan Papers". It is a
LK> supposed expose of the entire series by Carlos Castenada.
LK> Anyone else read and follows these works? There's some amazing and
LK> probing ideas there.
All I know about this case is what I've read in Cornerstone
magazine (Vol. 19 Issue 93, p.24), in part 3 or a series by Bob
Passantino, called "Fantasies, Legends, Heroes: a discussion of
popular 'legends' and how they arise." I'll quote the relevant
section:
Christians aren't the only ones who accept legends substituted
for real research. Those of you who are around my age and who
remember (or were even part of) the 1960s age of "drug
enlightenment" probably remember Carlos Castaneda as the
anthropologist who discovered that hallucinatory drugs supposedly
bring spiritual enlightenment.
He didn't do it the way many of my generation did, by dropping
acid, staring into a flower, and suddenly realizing that
everything is "God."
He did it by allegedly spending portions of several years in the
American Southwest and Mexican deserts as an apprentice to an
Indian shaman.
UCLA awarded Castaneda a Ph.D. in anthropology in 1973 for his
fieldwork and ethnography dissertation on Native American
shamanism. "The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yacqui Way of Knowledge"
represents that work and is known worldwide for its vivid
portrayal of Castneda's apprenticehip to the shaman, Don Juan.
However, practically nothing about Castaneda, including his name,
birth date, and original nationality, is what it appears to be.
In fact, careful investigation and analysis shows that his books
represent more of the Castaneda his college friend described as
"witty, imaginative, cheerful--a big liar and a real friend"*1
than they do Castaneda as the serious anthropologist and reporter
who sacrifices himself for scientific ethnographic research.
Like most legends, the Castaneda legend is missing dates, times,
people, places, and documents. Careful research and investigation
uncovered gaping holes, inconsistencies, and outright
fabrications in the convoluted stories Castaneda told in his four
books *2.
But the reason I mention the Castaneda legend particularly is
that I would never have expected the professional reaction to the
expose. Rather than relegating his books to the legend shelf,
some professionals STILL depend on them for ethnographic
information, and still herald him as the father of the
ethnographic "revolution" in anthropology!
What is most interesting is the response that has greeted
the revelation that Castaneda's works are fictional.
First, there has been no real attempt to revoke his
Ph.D., based as it is on fraudulent "research."
Secondly, as de Mille ... documents, the response among
many anthropologists and others who share the Don Juan
type of philosophical outlook has been neutral.
In other words, it doesn't matter if the works are
fictional because the underlying philosophy is, in some
vague sense, true.
An excellent example of this approach is Shelburne's
(1987) article titled "Carlos Castaneda: If It Didn't
Happen, What Does It Matter?"
Shelburne argues that "the issue of whether it
[Castaneda's experience] literally happened or not makes
no fundamental difference to the truth of the account"
(p. 217). Such excuses are little more than intellectual
used-car salesmanship. *3
Let's relate this back to our legend/research paradigm. Castaneda
BASED his "revolutionary" cultural anthropological ideas on
FICTION *4.
That's like building a house on sinking sand instead of solid
rock. Now Shelburne and other professional like him say it
doesn't matter, because the "truth" is the same. That's like
saying your sinking house is fine where it is--the house itself
is well built. But no matter how well built the house is, it will
fall apart since it's built on sand instead of solid ground.
You need BOTH as well-built house AND solid ground if you expect
to live in the house.
*1 Richard de Mille, "Castaneda's Journey" (Santa Barbara, CA:
Capra Press, 1976), 26.
*2 The most comprehensive investigation was done by Richard de
Mille and is contained in "Castaneda's Journey (see above
note) and the book de Mille later edited, "The Don Juan
Papers: Further Castaneda Controversies (Santa Barbara, CA:
Ross-Erickson Publishers, 1980).
*3 Terence-Hines, "Pseudoscience and the Paranormal" (Buffalo,
NY: Prometheus Press, 1988), 278.
*4 If there is any truth to Castaneda's anthropological theories,
it would be in spite of his fantasies, not because of them.
[End Quote]