The Secret of Carlos Castaneda 2018

Carlos Castaneda (1925-1998) is often called the "godfather" of the human potential movement. His name and life are surrounded by many contradictions, fictions and legends. This film feature Castaneda's closest apprentices as well as major experts in modern spiritually oriented psychology who lift the veil on the greatest mystery of his life: the stormy search of how to become real.

[@wiggleroom3039]

I read most of his books starting in the 70's. I then had the opportunity to attend a lecture Castaneda gave here in California in the 80's. He, Florinda and some apprentices rented a hall. It was advertised through word of mouth. Fascinating talk, and then he answered questions from the audience. He was generous with his time. We all paid five dollars to get in, and then, after the lecture, they divided the cost of the hall by the number of people who attended, and then they refunded the excess money to each of us. Quite extraordinary.

[@steve122140]

One wondered what he did with his money!?

[@singingtree2354]

I was there too!!! 🙏💞

[@wiggleroom3039]

@@singingtree2354 Wow! It was great. So glad you got to experience it as well.

[@LAStars-sratS]

@@steve122140gave it to his son.

[@chickenlover657]

I don't get it. Where did this excess money come from? What was it generated from?

[@margaretlouiseable]

I devoured these books 50 years ago. I'm about to reread them. Thank you!

[@shnabe]

Darious Wright has taken his place

[@Schnubbelbutz]

Hello Sounds fascinating Would like to have an update of your experience re-reading ... Thank you Up to you obviously 😊

[@mj-ls7qr8xp3n]

A Separate Reality, my favorite and something I've never forgotten. What a joy to read.

[@chloeuntrau4588]

@@mj-ls7qr8xp3n yes!

[@wahid-lg1kk]

I remember having a very wild experience with peyote in the 70s after reading that stuff. Like I was totally somewhere else, and not alone there, either, I don't know what my body was doing at the time, it was fine when I came back to it, though.. It was sitting under a tree. Two days later. I think I took too much 😂😂😂

[@sophieblack8864]

In the 80s Soviet Union Castaneda's books were available in the form of typed up letter size bundle of pages that were xeroxed and distributed among people who were interested. I was able to read about 5 books by Castaneda in that format. I read them as a spiritual seeker and as a philologist. They were in Russian language and I never knew who had translated them. I appreciate mentioning of the Russian translator, Vasiliy Maximov, in the beginning of this documentary. Eventually I moved to the United States and that’s where I saw Castaneda's books in a book format :). In the summer of 1996, when I stayed at one of the Tibetan Buddhist centers in the Rocky Mountains, there was a group of students from Mexico City. One evening I saw them practice Tensegrity exercises. They gladly showed me how to do some of these exercises, and I am forever thankful. I remember them as "very cool," benevolent group of people. Although I was very impressed by Castaneda’s books - especially the earlier books because, I remember, it was harder to read his later books - it did not happen that I joined any of his groups, and instead I became a student of Tibetan Buddhism. I see some of the similarities in Castaneda's teachings about assemblage of points to create different realities and the way Tibetan Buddhism views how mind works. For example, one of the great teachers in Nyingma school, Tarthan Tulku, wrote: "Mind, like space, has no foundation. It is not a palpable or solid thing, and it does not do anything. Rather, the mind is a sign of a specific focal setting being taken on Great Space." I am thankful to the makers of this documentary - mostly a Russian crew, as I see. I bow to all the people who have contributed to this film! Art works presented in this film are Amazing!

[@Arya-1111]

after studying both am more in harmony with Castaneda and the Mayan Toltec sorcery

[@donnam2012]

Fascinating, thank you for your comment.

[@johannahidalgo7738]

I read “Journey to Ixtlan” in 1980 and it was one of the most influential books in my lifetime , it showed me that the way I looked at the world was quite right…🙃👍

[@beaupianiste3738]

Yes, my favorite book of his. Very powerful. and was recommended by my piano professor at Indiana University decades ago...

[@user-cd8mh4mk9u]

My favorite, ,and 1st. Book of his. Carlos lead me 2 Shirley MacLaine. , LOVE HER.

[@LAStars-sratS]

Journey to Ixtlan became my bible. I am still on the path to Ixtlan.

[@edersoncsouza]

​@@LAStars-sratSSame here

[@danutahanyga4834]

I stumbled upon Castaneda's books in a second-hand bookshop in Melbourne and bought the first 4 intrigued by the covers. For me, they were fascinating in that they change the way one looks at things. They are also a great introduction to quantum physics. The world our senses are trained and able to perceive things is not what they are in reality. This doco inspired me to read them again. I find living like a warrior very attractive. My discipline is so poor, I won't even attempt to live like one. Our planet would be much healthier if the majority of humans lived a disciplined life and were conscious of the consequences/impact of the choices made.

[@beerman204]

Easier to dismiss Carlos and his experiences with Don Juan than to question ones own shallow understanding of reality and give his books serious and open attention...

[@JohnnyDanger36963]

they are magic books very deep with power secrets.any opposition are disinfo.

[@jeanneserrano3397]

Unfortunately, the word SORCERER has such a negative christian connotation due to zero "desire to learn" about altered consciousness states (as if n-o-t being NORMAL a bad thing) thus their 'Grand Canyon leap' of illogic conclusion relegates such TO BE AFRAID OF as pseudo-christians sadly see fear ~ a LOT! We've all met someone who, if they weren't so damn up tight/quick to judge, would be great fun to be around. Wish my own brother could have enjoyed getting high having admitted it made him 'paranoid.' Don Juan explained beautifully what was behind "the little smoke" (pot) being the REVEALER, in that one "meets their own SELF" and finds the experience of themselves ~ to be ... wanting.

[@mikem2208]

You mean his supposed experiences with Don Juan while he was simultaneously checking out books from his school library?

[@beerman204]

I do not know. What I do know is that Carlos did everything he could to confuse anyone trying to trace or document his timeline and whereabouts. Whether that was a clever plot on his part to hide his fictional relationship or create a fog (as he claimed) around his actual relationship with Don Juan is a mystery to me. You seem to know the answers...

[@mikem2208]

@@beerman204 for an author and student writing about something supposedly non-fiction the latter seems a stretch.

[@yarini-1]

His book "A Separate Reality" changed my life. So much that I ended up living with the Zapotec Indians in Oaxaca for a year. RIP Professor.

[@filmjazz]

For me it was Journey To Ixtlan. That's the one book I recommend above all the others if someone should read just one.

[@TheRoz93]

Wow! What was that like?

[@is-ness]

I read them back to back in late 90s. Strange things began to happen. A radical shift of consciousness, a spiritual awakening occurred after much more work in 2012. I now share with a small group the mysteries words can’t convey. Don Juan is the master.

[@steveogle3679]

Everyone always talks about the drugs in his books but for me the ultimate drug was his imagination and creativity. Gratitude for the doors he opens. Now and forever.

[@laurentverpeaux2281]

Agreed

[@mariabaca3941]

Absolutely

[@JackBootThugPigs]

Don Juan himself said that the drugs were, "For people like you Carlito, stupid and stubborn!"

[@steveogle3679]

@@JackBootThugPigs 😀

[@beemrdon52]

The drugs were in only 1 book ~ A Seperate Reality.

[@demian900]

Carlos me ayudó con sus libros a quebrar mi conciencia lógica, me ayudó a descarrilarme de las vías de lo normal y a considerar por un momento, que todos llevamos al chamán, al yogui dentro de nosotros. "Detén el diálogo interno", detén la mente y atisba al ser que eres, la realidad que eres: Energía e Intención. "Te das demasiada importancia personal", te dejas llevar por tu ego (chiquitito, "pinche demonio chiquitito") el cual quiere enseñorearse sin ninguna calificación, sin conocimiento. A eso me ayudaste Carlos, a sentirme un ser que necesitaba más conocimiento, más práctica y más humildad.

[@McLKeith]

I read several of Castenada’s books in the 1980s. And while I found them interesting, they were not my path. The awareness practices of Buddhism resonated more with me.

[@esterdav]

I read and re-read books by Carlos Castaneda! I have several notebooks with notes from his books. I still feel so much delight from the answers to my questions, so many new discoveries in myself and exciting sensations!..

[@OspreyFlyer]

Back in 70s I also took notes on Castaneda's books.

[@ramunas874]

Few years ago I classified Don Juan’s teaching from all Castaneda’s books by different topics - tried to see the whole picture this way.

[@OspreyFlyer]

Looking back over the decades the two most important things I learned, and made notes on lol, was 1) Does this path have a heart? and 2) Stopping internal dialog (which is meditation). There's a lot of Eastern Mysticism (Buddhism) in Castaneda's books. This was my first exposure to it.

[@lauriewashburn867]

Your lucky your curiosity didn't ruin your life as it did mine

[@ricosemple-qn9ft]

I met the guy in the pictures in Ajijic Mexico. I was summoned by his charming wife. I think she wrote the first books. I know him as Don Diego, a UCLA professor. It was a huge house. They had a decorative mask on an entrance wall that really frightened me. I asked Don Diego if he had ever heard of Carlos Castaneda and he chuckled, saying “I have had some dealings with him”. Then his wife looked at him and smirked.

[@louisadianova9028]

I read his books many years ago and was blown away! I reread his first book again not long time ago and still was amazed and fascinated by it!!

[@rosieeilon1882]

Thank you for this documentary 💝 I have read and loved all his books. A friend tried to make him some kind of drug addict… I loved Don Juan’s lessons and never forgot the ‘clock’ that determines our daily routine arbitrarily . Forever grateful for his books🙏

[@sunnylotus1]

Why do ALL documentaries nowadays HAVE to HAVE background music ??? I want to hear the words that are being spoken, and not have to battle extraneous weird sounds !!! Do you deliberately stand next to a hot rod car revving up when you wanna make a phone call ???

[@xolomartinez6036]

They talk on and on about how this enabled them to do things but what did they like the woman accomplish? What tangible thing did she do? It’s just a bunch of nonsense and noise. I think she opened the door to her bathroom and did something, wow.

[@edburke9473]

Thank you I noticed too

[@veravieira5755]

Musician here, speaking in a general sense. Many times music should not be there. Other times wrong music is playing at the wrong (which sometimes could be the right) times.

[@yafuker6046]

@@veravieira5755 RIGHT! I once saw a doc on R. Buckminster Fuller which would have been great-IF I COULD HAVE HEARD THE DIALOGUE!

[@yafuker6046]

@@xolomartinez6036 Back in '78 I briefly befriended a guy who was into this, said he thought I was "powerful", so I read a few of Carlos' books and became dismissive. I think it was a tool for this friend's narcissism to help control me.

[@johnmaccallum7935]

I read his books as they were first published and I tried the finding your hand drill and after a couple of months it happened and I never looked back. I also recently came upon the Hemi/sync system and listened to a tape last week but had no success but the other night when going to bed, ( I'm old and have tinnitus in my left ear} I also got a ringing in my right ear, which we all get occasionally. I thought,"I wonder if I can sync my tinnitus with the common ringing . Well it worked splendidly I found my mind, without interruption, carried on completely awake, while my body was completely asleep. I won't be needing to listen to anymore Monroe tapes. CC was the beginning of all of this and so much more our society has taken from him over the years we owe him much. Of course he was debunked as a fraud. Small minds.

[@daniellawton4336]

Monroe was an evil con artist. Maybe you should follow the rabbit hole, find the "complete" list of cartoons, and then figure out where people are doing EVERYTHING Carlos wrote about in his books. Helped by private class students. Dozens now doing the impossible in a group setting and sharing tips.

[@johnmaccallum7935]

@@daniellawton4336 I have been practicing Casteneda's methods since his first book was published. Try the mirror in the stream if you want some confirmation beyond the simple dreaming. Monroe is new to me and if he was a con artist he certainly fooled the CIA and others out of a lucrative living and I listened to one tape with no success but a few days later I tried syncing my tinnitus I have in my left ear with a normal type ringing in my right ear. The kind of ringing everyone gets from time to time and it actually worked I slipped right into the gateway state without any tapes so I can validate his methods are true. In fact it's far easier to accomplish a goal with Monroe's method as your mind doesn't need to fall asleep first then get swayed by having fun with flying, dream sex, etc. You can believe as you will

[@jvaish]

​@@daniellawton4336judgment is death

[@AlexToussiehChannel]

Nobody can say he's a fraud because he never made any claims! He wrote books, you can read them as fiction or nonfiction.

[@daniellawton4336]

@@AlexToussiehChannel Yea, except he had private students, who have gotten everything to work now. ALL of it. So it's not a situation where one needs to defend him as you are doing. That's kind of saying he's a fake. If you liked the books, learn to do all that!!!! You just have to find the right group where it's being learned by dozens and easy to see that it's true.

[@janetpattison8474]

I was absolutely in love with Castenada’s books, way back in 74 , (or earlier?). I never for a moment thought any part of the stories were made up. I owe Carlos an immense amount of gratitude. His books led me to my own spiritual guide 50 years ago, and the amazing journey hasn’t ended. While read8ng Carlos’s books, I begged God for my own guide & got one through the incredible “The Spiritual Notebook” by Paul Twitchell. Life was turned on its head, my dreams completely changed bc of the sacred word HU that I found in the book. All these years I chant the sacred word HU daily, & it opened the door to time travel, seeing the future & many past lives, healing, and pure love. We have no idea what we’re missing until we have it. The HU is now on many YT channels, & the one w/ the quotes is great! ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@slimturnpike]

But as it turns out, the stories were made up.

[@stephenduplantier2151]

Michael Harner’s uproarious laughter at the end when he admires Carlos’ anti-colonial masterstroke of challenging Enlightenment rationalism with the hallucinations of a barefoot Yaqui trickster says it all.

[@oscarverque2255]

😂👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

[@nuitsnight]

I know. It was perfect. I laughed with him and really appreciate the way you articulated that ending. Very good.

[@Phil_Scott]

When you are facing the material world...and dealing with it constantly... thats what you see.... its a trifecta...necessary, normal and ordinary. Once you have been in some sort of car accident or near death, and get declared dead... and see yourself from ceiling level laying on an operating table .... all of a sudden without pain and at peace with it all.... you will know that there is indeed non ordinary reality. Or....a person could end up seeing the inside of their colon..

[@alanboggs8878]

R​@@Phil_Scott

[@buddabirne4661]

I must amit I also fell for this denial and escapism from reality of the modern commercial lifestile looking for something that could be called sorcery and perception of parallel or seperate reality only to find Out that it minimizes your chances for material success to become a (day)dreamer while everyone else IS taking Care of Business. And the only functioning sorcery left in the 21. Century is deceit, fraud, abuse, criminality, exploitation and finally decadence and warfare . So nothing romantic or idealistic to be found here no more.Profit by all means prevails and the Bad Guys are the winners. This is how the end begins and trust and naivity become a threat for your survival.Paradise lost.

[@swainsongable]

So glad you focused on the non-ordinary aspect of Castaneda's contribution - his is a gift that obviously keeps on giving. Half a dozen books i read as a teenager changed the trajectory of my life - Hesse, Pirsig, and Yaki Way of Knowledge were a potent trinity.

[@OspreyFlyer]

Wow, Pirsig. Hadn't thought of him in a long time. I was really into his writings back in the day.

[@RobHollanderMusic]

This is an excellent documentary and I recommend it to anyone who has had interest in Castaneda's work. I was fortunate to attend a rare lecture by him at Stony Brook University in about 1971 or so. My main recollection of that talk was how sincere he was in relating his stories and that he, despite some of the far-flung aspects of these tales, did not seem at all like a charlatan. I also remember him talking about the "bonds of intentionality", I think his metaphor for the limiting beliefs our cultures make us internalize, and the need to see through them.

[@kcowgirl7840]

During the late 60's and beyond, I, along with many friends, waited for each book to be published with great anticipation and celebration with each one. I have re-read them many times over the course of my 76 years. I began to follow a very different spiritual practice earjy on, but the books have remained an inspiration. It's about time to dust them off again!

[@Wayinsworld]

In continual pursuit of an impeccable warrior's life, after reading the books by Carlos as a teenager, I studied the Silva Mind Control Method of Jose Silva. This path eventually led me to study Remote Viewing. With the use of Extended Remote Viewing protocols, I believe I've been able to walk in beauty as a shaman who honors the knowledge my soul acquires in past lifetimes. I salute you Carlos for inspiring my journey.

[@judykraska400]

Thank you for mentioning Jose Silva, l also read all Castaneda books, and enjoyed his mystical stories, but Silva left a deep impression on me. l attended a Silva mind seminar in Berlin in 1976. I still have the then booklet with the exercises. The seminar was the only one l ever attended of this kind, but it helped me all my life. Till today l put my three fingers together focus on parking and find always my parking spot immediately no matter how crowded the place. Just a minimal thing, but everything l set my mind on, and visualise comes into being. I believe, we are living in different dimensions at the same time. I always can be a tree, a flower, a orange...we are all things, as the chemistry is the same. Everything is experience, but l have to admit, my most happy experiences are always in nature, listening to the wind, the forests, the animals. They all speak, and convey messages. And death is just passing through to another dimension, where no body is needed. Just my perception. Carlos Castaneda stimulated my imagination, Jose Silva set me on my path practically. Thankful for both of them. Greetings, health and prosperity from Australia,30.04.2024

[@Wayinsworld]

@@judykraska400 "Negative thoughts have no influence over me in the realm of the mind." It's amazing how so many things I learned at my first Silva seminar are things I still use daily, just like that one. I was lucky enough to take Silva training in 1980 in Toronto Canada. Once I caught on to how visualization with desire, belief and expectancy worked, I was hot to travel. I managed to manifest a temporary work visa and moved to my favorite city, San Francisco. Took Silva seminar again there in 1984 then a year later I landed a new job in Honolulu. Repeated the same Silva seminar again a third time in 1985 in Hawaii. Turns out some sunk in I guess. My career was in publishing and commercial printing. Please share if you had any accuracy in the blind case healings we did in the Silva Method. This is what led me to my natural remote viewing skills IMO.

[@Honorcodefor-1life]

Wanes World, EXCELLENT!!!;) As a fellow world (physical and more) traveller I fully relate, many have been set on the path, we are like buoys to the spirits as we give love and hold light, and presence and seek truth and right, day and night...this is what we were meant for friend, pat yourself on the back and remember, it's Always DEEPER than we think, so be blessed and trod on souls ...

[@Wayinsworld]

@@Honorcodefor-1life Isn't it wonderful...

[@markanon5581]

I remember a 2-day workshop at the Charing Cross Hotel in London in around 1979-81. It was quite fascinating. I never won the lottery - I guess it was 'the pools' - going to my level, but I did hitchhike lifts very quickly after visualising. And I remember the course leader talking about his pact with the 'king of the rats' that they could have all the avocados on the ground, but they would leave the one's on the tree for him...

[@bowenyogaroom1630]

Appreciate the film so very much .. Carlos’ books helped me enormously as a young adult, experiencing life as an outlier. The work via Castaneda’s books allowed me to fully be me in those moments. When I read the early books, I felt the work, travelled with the work, literally entered the page of description, as he wrote it. The later books felt more convoluted to me, in the sense I couldn’t enter the work so clearly. (And this could of course be more about me than the books, for sure.) All love to all students

[@freeto9139]

Similar experience; only it was more like a redundant concept ... Sometimes, that's just all there is. Ala Bugs Bunny

[@deeliciousplum]

As someone who possesses no beliefs in the supernatural, yet who is respectful towards those who do possess such beliefs, I do wish to share that I love Carlos' novels. They are a joy to be immersed in and the stories they are hosts to are brimming with an intoxicating/mesmerizing imagination. 🌸

[@tylerdavis520]

Sooner or later you’ll believe, in this life or the next

[@swainsongable]

Novels? :)

[@matthewwood2638]

thank you for being respectful to those who experience another reality.

[@yowwwwie]

i've read all of his books....then, something caused me to recoil from his teachings....a certain evil had crept into his life. I hope he found what he was looking for.... good documentary on him, יוי

[@krishead2410]

The truth can be stranger than fiction, reality is ultimately subjective.

[@ShamanKish]

Definitely one of the greatest American writers. Strange fiction entangled with pearls of insight.

[@TheHeinrichSymposium]

I like what was said about psychedelics being useful only in as much as melting the edges of a rigid vision of reality. Through immaturity seekers want to return to a childhood state, but the way is forward not backward and not with anything borrowed.

[@sanstar2007]

I’m going to re-read his first 4 books, and then read the rest. From what I remember from reading them in the 1970’s, they were phenomenal. Can’t wait to restart it all again.

[@quakerlyster]

Amy Wallace who was one of his long time lovers wrote a book called The Sorcerers Apprentice, in which she said that she and others she knew said that they never saw him display any magical powers. She also said that he constantly tried to seduce women, of all ages until his death. I think she made reference to the the book The Guru Papers , The Masks of Authrotarian Powers to explain his behavior.

[@joalexsg9741]

Oh, believe me, she was not the only one to denounce the many hoaxes and lies by Carlos Castaneda, sadly, many people won't listen. I started reading his books as a 17-y-old in 1977 and from 1980 to 2004 I dedicated myself to lucid dreaming practices, guiding myself by his books. I still believed him in that year, though since 1995 I'd been suspecting there was something wrong about his attitudes. When I first started to learn about the denouncements in 2004, I started to research the problable sources he plagiarized to create his dangerous pastice and found much more reliable material to guide my path. There are at least two other books denouncing him, besides Amy's, I'm still reading one of them, so thick it is (I read too many books concomitantly, so I had to set my priorities and CC has long stopped being one of them): "Don Juan Papers - Further Castaneda Controversies" by Richard De Mille, the other one is "Castaneda's journey: The power and the allegory" by the same author but I haven't bought it yet.

[@barbtki2239]

Live your own life and create your own reality . Enjoy each moment of your living

[@chadcowan6912]

After an unexpected interaction with Azurescen mushrooms, these books found me and helped me to process the experience. I have connected with Carlos's work more than any other metaphysical teachings. It truly resonates. ❤

[@lynnjacobs9885]

I read his first 4 books in the 70s and took them very seriously, not realizing at the time that they were works of fiction. Though I was later disappointed to find out Don Juan never existed and his exploits never happened, I learned much about the philosophy of living.

[@nantschev]

The book Sorcerer's Apprentice: My Life With Carlos Castaneda by Amy Wallace, that was an eye opener. From a review "While reading this book, it becomes clear how spiritual abuse works, how cults operate, and why actually anyone (!) can become a victim of it. Amy was lucky - she is not among the 5 women who disappeared after Castaneda's death. She was lucky because she failed, because something about her didn't fit the guru. She had luck in misfortune, not making it to the forefront. But it was a painful time for her, as she had to live with constant humiliations and tried to incorporate them into the lofty thought construct. The confusion created by such a thought construct becomes clear when reading. Absolutely recommended if you want to gain a bit more security to not fall for such methods: Whenever it is forbidden to trust one's own perception, it becomes dangerous!!"

[@squirlmy]

"5 women who disappeared after Castaneda's death" -most of their bodies were found, having committed suicide. One's car was found in the desert, she's presumed dead. Unfortunately their disappearances were also glamorized as having "passed into other worlds". The truth is more sordid and depressing.

[@robertorodrigueznogueira6570]

Cierto. Buen apunte. CC ha sido desmontado innumerable veces. En el documental faltan, por ejemplo, los antropólogos de la UCLA que conocían la falsedad de sus "investigaciones" y sus plagios pero le concedieron un doctorado para lograr atención (y financiación). En el documental faltan las referencias que cita usted a los suicidios de los acólitos, tema central de cualquier referencia a Castaneda por el que Tony Karam pasa de puntillas con una falsa elegancia sangrienta. Yo estuve ahí en los 90-2000 y mucha gente que conocí sigue presa de este engaño, (ya autoengaño), desde entonces lo único que han expandido, lejos de su consciencia, han sido sus miedos y nostalgias hasta hacer de ellos el centro de unas vidas escritas por otra persona.

[@Calumetto]

I'm pretty sure I'm the one that Amy Wallace mentions in her book as having racked-up tens of thousands of dollars in debt traveling and paying to attend 22 Cleargreen seminars (probably 16 when I talked to her). I was unhappy about that, but I don't think she understood. I didn't feel cheated. It was just getting harder and harder to keep going. I was glad to have found out about them. If I'd learned years later that they'd gone on and I hadn't known about it, that would have been hard to bear. ••• Christ, that was more than 20 years ago. Doesn't seem possible. ••• PEACES!!!

[@marilynwarbis7224]

Thank you for a very interesting video. I have all Castaneda's books, and for me the description of the Nagual woman at the end of 'The Eagle's Gift', where she says goodbye to Carlos, is the most beautiful description of a woman ever written.

[@visionarteformaproposito]

Interesting. I invite you to explore - if you haven't already - the chapter "The Woman in the Church" in "The Art of Dreaming."

[@DendriticFractals]

That part could of been written by a woman according the the beautiful lady featured 😮

[@bowenyogaroom1630]

@@DendriticFractals it would have most likely been written by a woman.

[@charleswish8115]

Hi guys, a lot of people I've run into with my work have a blured understanding of these three literary genres: Fiction, Legend, & Mythology. The first two notwithstanding, Mythology is an imaginary narrative that clearly demonstrates a universal truth. Fiction is just whatever & Legend is hyperbole. What Carlos was primarily producing is Mythology. Hope that helps. = )

[@JohnnyDanger36963]

your trying to constrict a creation. it's beyond your Semitruthful 3 categories of someone's OPINION.

[@kramnam4716]

his books taught me how to take magic mushrooms in wales for the first time with respect and planning and I had the most wonderful expansive Mother Nature connection experience.

[@peterfortunatoauthorartist1054]

The BEST documentary on KZbin about Carlos Castaneda and the teachings of Don Juan. If you've read the books and practiced the teachings, the many insightful comments by respected students and colleagues will help illuminate your own journey as well as shed light on the enigmatic man. Thank you for posting this!

[@veliswatiya4043]

I am comfortable with the fact that people describe him differently but also in a way all magically. Because we each experience a person differently based on ourselves. I think people who live through their spirituality and who are aware have a fear of getting lost in it and not being able to tell the difference between the two worlds .I get that this is what happened to Carlos. He got lost on the way but awareness tells us that this is a possibility for all who are aware. Thats what I gathered from these interviews.

[@danielholman7225]

I met Carlos around 1968. He was a guest speaker at my college Sociology class. My Sociology teacher knew him. Carlos had just finished his first book. He was an unforgettable personality. He gave me the confidence to pursue Eastern Philosophy and Religion.

[@BakedCuppyCake]

I had no clue who this dude was, had to look him up and went "Oh! This is going to be good!" Thanks algorithm! 😂❤

[@deeliciousplum]

“Strong. The algorithms are.” < said in my best Yoda vocal inflection. 🤭

[@swainsongable]

Buckle up, it's a literal awesome ride 😎

[@knehnav1955]

What I miss in this documentary is the influence of Commerce. His books where/are a money generator

[@tonesfreeman1769]

What's happened to us from 2020, I feel a whole new birthing of warriors on a global scale is taking place. Watch out little bandito's, the new seers are here. Great documentary, thanks.

[@dougyoung221]

I read his books in the 70s, knowing i was more then 'ordinary' but not knowing how to access what i knew was inside. In my 70s im more then happy to be ordinary, its home, after all.

[@greeremalachi926]

I read The Teachings of Don Juan as an adolescent in the 70's. Powerful and what a read. Among what learned why in places like in high school I had my "spots."

[@laurentverpeaux2281]

He was describing things in his books i experienced in reality. Anybody trying to discredit his work is just not ready for certain aspects of multidimentionality and the entities around us. Sometimes he uses metaphores but some things are as he describes.... but again rise your vibration high enough you will enter different realms and rules there is so much to spiritual ascension so many paths. Learn from everybody and dive deep within. I had to hit rock bottom to rebirth and experience magic for months on end...incredible stuff. Now i am healed from the incurable but that is just a dot in the picture of what i did and what we can all do.

[@maexmaestermann471]

Exactly!!!

[@beerman204]

"Consensus reality" is important in living our lives, but to deny that other realms of reality exist is to stay on the surface of life ...

[@Dieaboutitt__]

Lmfao stfu he was a fraud

[@E-Kat]

Can you share your experiences, please? Thank you.😊

[@laurentverpeaux2281]

@@E-Kat it would take me many books but perhaps i will record my biography/story and leave it on youtube under different name so i don t get annoyed. I will have to talk about my entire life and especially the past 2 years. I wish everybody every soul a magnificent, triumphant day!! :) we are One

[@pn2543]

very cool, I read his books in high school in the 70s, used to walk the woods with my fingers curled haha, but later saw he kind of repackaged lots of Perennial Wisdom and zen stories from Alan Watts et al, and really, there is no such person as Don Juan. He did a disservice in a way by leading people away from the Everyday Mindfulness teachings as a practice to see the Omnipresent Eternal Wonder. It is just more guru worship, and the guru Don Juan was completely fictional.

[@Newfoundmike]

Some audio is not that good so why put Background music to it . .🤗❤

[@LuxETenebris33]

Always loved his books, now I know more about the man behind them, thank you.

[@DustinMercer]

great new information. when in doubt use no background music. and then, if you must, keep it very low.

[@visionarteformaproposito]

I actually uploaded the video as it was sent to me by a fellow tensegrity practitioner who needed the Spanish translation. Personally, I don't think it is a good audiovisual work and it falls short of Carlos Castaneda's legacy. However, it is very rewarding, enlightening and revealing to see the opinions of Renata, Bruce... and even Tony.

[@DustinMercer]

@@visionarteformaproposito thank you!

[@tylerdavis520]

@@visionarteformapropositoas an outsider, Tony came across as the most trustworthy voice

[@carlgranados7106]

I loved his books as a teenager and somewhat when searching for my own Don Juan in the mid 70's. Of coarse like a lot of young peoples naive dreams looking for the supernatural (after losing their religion) I found out it was bullshit. Carlos 's story is the story of all cult leaders. They find out out that people are looking for a magical meaning and purpose in life and they find out they are good at creating this kind of story so why not make money at it. The one good thing I can say for him is that he didn't push it to far, didn't get to greedy (like Evangelical preachers), and did just enough to not have to work, get a variety of groupies he didn't have to con to badly, and he got to have a lot of fun with it by never taking himself to seriously.

[@racheldelfin342]

Thank you for providing us this perspective of Carlos Casteneda. His books along with those of the female warriors gave me a different experience of life and helped me to move through a difficult period. ❤ finding that Carlos merged two disciplines is even more fascinating as I find myself attracted to the Shaolin masters. Thanks again mucho corazon ❤

[@ericthehealerrezadadmehr4421]

I was honoured to know Carlos at UCLA 1984-1992 as an Art Historian. I also met Jose Arguellas there! I got my BA in Fine Arts 1986 but did graduate work there until 1992. I would see him North Campus usually at the URL Building University Research Library

[@theshamanarchist5441]

His books were good to read in bed late at night stoned. He had a very vivid imagination. And he created his own indian medicine man. And they went on some strange adventures together. I don't think of his books as anything more than great stories. Clearly, none of that stuff actually happened to him. But his books got around by word of mouth and soon he became an underground cult literary hero figure amongst new agers and hippies. He then took full advantage of his new found status (Ways to Power)by building his own little sex magick coven for his favourite groupies. Damn, why didn't I think of that? Great books. Cheers mate

[@MollyBeenie]

Intersting

[@Zepster77]

You nailed his whole shtick do succinctly. Love it

[@DavidBausch]

1976 stationed in a Texas desert his book fell into my hands. began to understand dream time and the meaning of the thousands of hands outlined painted on rock cliffs in Australia. When the brain reboots we experience it as dreams sleeping, then there was the Koreans experiencing with sleep deprivation, ran into sun young moon and watched people get woke up in an hypnotic state and walk about still asleep, caught them trying it on me, next day I left, anyways surprised to see it here after all this time sparks memories and countless hours of contemplation meditation thinking to come to understanding the subconscious and consciousness connection or disconnection and awareness without thought, here we go again lol it is all beyond words

[@chickenlover657]

Read all those books very young. Numerous times throughout my life. They helped me and taught me and directed me more than any shrink ever. More than any "psychology". Up until his apprentices' books. At that point I realized his success turned him into Faust. Regardless, I still value what came before and I highly recommend.

[@jackspeer2127]

I was fascinated with Castaneda's books. After the 2nd book that I read I realized what he was doing. in the late 60s and early 70s Weed and LSD were all the rage among the young adults and many teens. a few years later the women's liberation movement had huge momentum. Reading the second book I figured out why the first book was all about the drugs and the next book ignored drugs but focused on giving all the power and authority to the women. See the parallel? He made it all up and just followed teen culture as it evolved and based his books on youth fads.

[@donnievance1942]

Absolutely. I noticed his trend-following even when I was a young hippie still entranced with his books. The trend-following was the thing that first jaded me on his shtick. He was an egregious fraud. Anyone who hasn't realized that yet needs to read "The Don Juan Papers" -- a massive collection of studies that exposed his fabrications-- from his erroneous descriptions of the Sonoran desert environment to his lies about Yaqui culture and beyond. This book also uncovered many of the literary sources from which he stole his ideas of sorcery and magical practices. The way the university system let him get away with a total lack of verification of his "field work," accepted his phony narratives at face value, and finally awarded his degree constitutes a scandal of academic negligence. People should have lost their jobs over it, but instead the university allowed itself to be a vehicle for a fraud that extended over many years. The thing that clinched my rejection of his con job (long before the publication of "The Don Juan Papers") was the way that his books morphed from the unique and peculiarly flavored "Don Juan: a Yaqui Way of Knowledge" into a bunch of lurid sorcery adventure novels. As a weird synchronicity with my own life, I had known a young man at college-- small, dark, and handsome in somewhat the same physical genre as Castaneda- who was also brilliant, charismatic, and multi-talented. This fellow was, putatively, the son of an English earl, had done undergraduate studies at Cambridge, England, and had passed his high school years at a couple of different European prep schools. He spoke with an upper-crusty British accent. He was a great spinner of yarns, and he had a thousand tales of exciting adventures, particularly adventures involving sultry, alluring young ladies in Italy and Switzerland. He was, in fact, quite a successful ladies' man when I knew him. Everyone was charmed by him, and he could, on demand, keep a roomful of people mesmerized by his tales. He was accomplished at fencing and played a great blues guitar. At one point, another friend of mine became suspicious of some part of our protagonist's biography and did a little amateur investigating. He found out that X (I'd never in a million years reveal his name) maintained a totally false identity. He was actually the son of a New York industrialist, who was rich but had no particular prominence. Almost everything we thought we knew about X was totally false. At the time of this revelation, I had been a good friend of X for a couple of years. I had already come to realize that X, despite his many accomplishments and having an IQ that was probably north of 160, suffered from a profound sense of social insecurity or personal inferiority. No doubt this neurosis was the driver for his invention of a grandiose and romantic identity. I was astonished to realize his hidden sense of inadequacy. When I first learned about the phony background and story of Castaneda, I immediately felt that I recognized him as a personality type with my friend X. They even shared the common family background of the prosperous bourgeoisie, although this was located in Brazil in Castaneda's case. When I saw a video interview with Castaneda, the very flavor of his personality presentation was so familiar to me that it was uncanny. I suppose the reason that I'm telling this story is that my sense of recognition of Castaneda as a personality is so strong that I am convinced of his uselessness as a veridical witness to anything. However, the ancillary details pertaining to Castaneda leave me with no sense of good will toward his memory, while I still feel a deep affection for my old friend. X's fabrications injured no one, and he was a kind and generous person at heart. I would love to know what became of him.

[@DeeJay003]

There is no way he made up the first 3 books. Many spiritual warriors have trodden the same path - he was just the first to record it in a way those in the west could truly relate.

[@mark-catalinapullen431]

At 17 I voraciously consumed the trilogy, as it confirmed much of my personal experience of reality both as a child an especially as anew found teenager. He gave me all the confirmation of my experience I could ever need. It was profound, still is!!! I am now 59.

[@user-te9dx1iy2p]

About the groups and a religious sect like structure of the Castaneda’s close followers… it’s inevitable when a difficult childhood of the leader is combined with some early adulthood insecurities like a self-perception of being a small man or a man with lack of resources who depended on well-off western women. The genius writer with a complex background he couldn’t stay unmoved by dedication and admiration of his followers. He was just a man after all….

[@Vort317545]

There is a lot of controversy surrounding Carlos Castaneda many make a career out of trying to debunk him and fervently so! I got into Castaneda’s works while I was still in high school. They even inspired me to take up Cultural Anthropology when in college. Fiction or Not, don Juan real or not. Castaneda a cult leader or not. His books and teachings. His books hold profound wisdom and yes power. They literally changed my life from materialistic kid hooked on earthly thrills in 80s. Into a deeply spiritual and yes magically happy soul for the rest of my life. And it is the same for millions of other fans of his works as well! For those out there that dismiss Castaneda fervently. I will simply say this. The Bible isn’t real, there is no scientific evidence to support the historical Jesus. Yet, that book has the profound power to heal and change human lives. So it doesn’t matter of don Juan was real if all the rest were real. We may never know. For as Carlos points out and is true of all Sorcerers. At their heart is “The Trickster” they are NOT going to show themselves not of their world. And you are an outsider! It ultimately doesn’t matter of Castaneda’s works are fiction or non-fiction. What matters are countless of peoples lives that have been changed by these books.

[@visionarteformaproposito]

Well said! 👍

[@mrgood8378]

Conman for lost souls.

[@silencestudio6993]

thank you Renata Murez, Bruce Wagner and Grigory Kovalev as your words resonate very much with my own experience. I can say that Castaneda managed to describe the world without judging it, opening portals for the one who dares to encounter himself, teaching the ultimate teaching of being a witness to the world and living in this world instead of living in a box or wishful thinking... To describe different layers of reality - if it's not done philosophically, might be done by bringing it back from the second attention/dreaming. My experience is, that it's only done impeccably or "reality-based" if it is done without projecting our own patterns of socialisation into the description. Quite and endeavour

[@B0rnles13]

I'm so glad I found this tonight, I feel blessed and free. I read The Teachings of Don Juan when I was around 14 and was immediately interested in learning what I could, went down a few rabbit holes and indecisions at the crossroads, but this helped me remember myself.

[@awoFalase]

Really good documentary. I discovered his books at a younger age and enjoyed them. I believe whether you believe in what he is saying or not, his books open a space of possibility beyond the dogma we are often taught.

[@harperwelch5147]

I remember reading these books. I loved them. Wasn’t sure what they meant in terms of what I should do, not being interested in taking those plant-based drugs.

[@steamengineer100]

I read all the books. Deeply enthralled. His words touched me for sure. He painted scenes I knew I shared with so many people. I’m surprised nobody capitalized on making a movie.

[@juanotamendi8913]

No one ever said that you should never get angry or do bad things. They just always say you should do the best you can at that time...

[@dredrotten]

Castaneda spins a good, entertaining yarn but nothing I could ever replicate in my psychedelic days.

[@joylynne1343]

❤ This film touches my soul. I read a few of CC's books in the late-1960's - 1970's ..., through which I gathered that this is "THE STUFF." ... As I stretched and studied other spititual paths, Don Castenada's teachings remained a Constant Level of Truth ... I'd like to see this video again and again, because just once or twice is not enough, as every time, there's a new insight, a new connection ... Because as human beings, we grow. ❤ Thank you.❤

[@TruthWielders]

I was around 20 when I read the first books, and followed as they came out. Must have reread twice after that. The most significant thing I learned from Castaneda's work is about self importance, which is featured in almost every story in the series, and to which he devotes the first part of the one Journey to Ixtlan. I might start reading them again...

[@catherinedunne1799]

I participated in the creation of a play, the Sorcerer’s Journey and it was incredible to read these books and interpret and play with the actors in my devised divination style. Watching this was very fun. We explored a lot of his life and these contexts and it’s great to see your faces.

[@Calumetto]

"Do not antagonize the nematodes!"

[@user-cd8mh4mk9u]

😊The Best,😅iv read all of his books. ❤.. Lol im 64 now., barely 20yrs old ,journey 2 ixland, The eagle's gift...i didnt know know that he passed on. I Love when the monk was dying ,he made this really funny face all the monks started laughing, later that night he passed in peaceful perfection. THANK YOU.. 😅Excellent video.

[@mujaku]

I have read Carlos Castaneda's early books, my favorite is Tales of Power. One of my favorite terms is "Luminous Beings". It reminds me of the Mahayana Buddhist luminous Mind. His books were certainly entertaining but Buddhism goes in a different direction. But in a spiritual manner of speaking, we have the potential to become luminous beings. But we have to transcend our psychophysical body (the five aggregates). This body is subject to birth. death, and rebirth, or the same Samsara. The radiant or luminous Mind is what exactly we have no remembrance or cognition of. Our over identification with the worldly, secondary reality or 'dependent origin' cancels out the luminous Mind. With the meeting of the luminous beings, the Buddhas and the Tathagatas, comes our initiation into the stages (bhumi) of the Bodhisattva. “Then, Mahamati, sustained by the power of the Buddhas, the Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas at their first stage will attain the Bodhisattva-Samadhi, known as mahāyana-prabhāsa, which belongs to the Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas. They will immediately see the Tathagatas, Arhats, Fully-Enlightened Ones appearing before them personally, who come from all the different abodes in the ten quarters of the world and who now facing the Bodhisattvas will impart to them their sustaining power (adhiṣṭhāna) displayed with the body, mouth, and words.” - Lankavatara Sutra

[@hansenmarc]

Next you’re going to try to convince me that Jonathan Livingston Seagull was not an actual bird.

[@wadedavies3924]

Reading his books caused me to experiment with Jimson weed and the experience was so frightening that it scared me away from drugs. Later, I read about his academic career and his problems with women and realized he was a fake and an asshole.

[@tone7247]

Lmfao and you are no one. No one at all.

[@wadedavies3924]

@@tone7247 Of course. Sorry to be the one to pop your bubble. There are also persistent rumors that Castenada was yet another CIA pied piper but that doesn't fit your fantasies either.

[@wadedavies3924]

@@tone7247 sorry to offend you but it gets worse. Casteneda is neither an academic or a shaman. He is just another pied piper, paid for by your tax dollars. Can't get more explicit than that without being censored by YT.

[@wadedavies3924]

@@tone7247 YT disagrees......they keep deleting my response.

[@curtrod]

neither are you

[@DendriticFractals]

This info doesnt make me cherish the books any less. One of very many styles of initiation that takes the place of the one missing from our culture. Only rites of passage we have are marriage, divorce and graduating school so people naturally are going to gravitate. "There is a Seeker Born Every Minute" -Bob Dobbs

[@Ronin54-]

Carlos Castneda, Ken keyse, and other visionary's of that decade. All discovered psycotropic substances were not needed to open the doors of perception, drugs were like battering down the door, instead of using the keys provided by self reflection.

[@noelleblanc4473]

In 1981 or so I tumbled upon TALES OF POWER lying on a coffee table at my girlfriend's apartment. I started reading while waiting for her getting ready to go out to rhe movies and after the first page, I was hooked big time. She had to yell at me for stopping reading and go. After the movie, I brought the book home and read till 3 a.m. until I fell asleep on the book. I read all his books and couldn,t wait for the next one to come out. I would have liked hearing in the video about the jump into the abyss and find out about what symbolism it refers to. Anyway thanks for the video.

[@nuitsnight]

A very good documentary. I particularly appreciated Tony Karam's insights. I wish the subtitles were more precise but that's o.k. 😊 Thank you.

[@user-rq9kc3gc6j]

Since I read the first three books as they were published, I have grown with the understanding that there is no conflict between open minded people.

[@bhn7731]

Really well put together! Great art accompaniment!

[@lametafisicaconariyana2185]

I appreciate the complete understanding of psychedelics: that they can have harmful effects too. Too many people are going around thinking it's all just good. That always concerned me. (20:05)

[@clairewheeler2937]

This has inspired me to re read his books. I read a few decades ago and I remember enjoying them. Regardless of whether Don Juan was channelled or a mixture of his own knowledge I'm looking forward to delving back into them.

[@paulaa1175]

I always found that, yes, Carlos Castaneda's books led me into a separate reality ... particularly if I had insomnia and needed to go to sleep. They emptied my mind of sensible thought and led me into the dodo land of pleasant snooze. Thanks for the fantasy bunkum, Carlos; I'm sure the gullible enjoyed the ride.

[@Gently469]

I loved his books and they were like Bible to me. Even I saw what a challenge he could be for Don Juan as his schooling was often a detriment to the lessons his mentor tried to teach and get across to him.

[@miketomlin6040]

Enjoyed these as a teenager, even when discovering they were fiction years later, not sure what I imagined was 'real' when reading, still glad I encountered them!

[@lukula2934]

Decades ago, there was a man like this in my life. Brilliant, gifted in many supernatural or supranatural abilities. He too used the dream world to travel and learn and instruct. For me, no convincing of authenticity was needed. I only wanted to learn the secrets... And did to some small degree, mostly via a kind of intuitive osmosis.I remember many private conversations that would go till sunrise. But others have also provided guidance and visions of the many realms that exist beyond and within our usual, pathetically normal perceptions and projections. These teachings can always be easily marginalized to and by the many. That is the nature of this world, an abundance of beautiful banality...or what I've termed, "pretty prisons". Perhaps it is time to re-visit this man's stories.

[@lafayettemoreira4423]

His meetings with the unknown. You take LSD today, and you'll be facing it without maps and/or guides. From the past Carlos said he found a line with Juan and Genaro, and others, that would lead to sure destinations.

[@rebeccawesteren9851]

Excellent, TY for sharing! Reallity is objective and or subjective depending on perception. CC challenged the midset as in programming and deprogramming the experiencer/ observer.

[@beemrdon52]

I've been reading the 3rd and 4th books off and on since the 70s. Yes, I read all of the others too but its Journey to Xtlan and Tales of Power that I relate to. As a matter of fact, I am going to re-read them again shortly. I find them to be an inspiration on how to live life. Whether any of it really existed or not, the books have a spiritual teaching that I want to keep hearing.

[@jamesearlcash1758]

Whether we are awake or asleep we're dreaming. Our dream state and wake state are one and the same. What is referred to as the universe, god, whatever isn't subjective and works for anyone with out regards to one's personal and or collectively subjective beliefs of what they percieve it to be. It accommodates any and or everyone whether they are percieved as good, evil, somewhere in between or somewhere outside of the scope of our understanding. The mind who's dream we are all a part of is overall loving, caring, compassionate, patient, a friend, always by your side regardless of what you call it, you can conversate with it and it will reply in the form of dream symbolism while you are awake and asleep, the former most don't catch on to. Even if you get pissed off at it, it will stand by one's side reaching out with love and concern for your well being, it is encouraging and fully supportive because it knows us more than we do and knows what we can and can't handle. I have my issues with it but we are able to work it out. I honestly never heard of that dude Carlos until now only because Herman who I call the universe lead me here to assure me that I wasn't out of my fucking mind! ahahahahahaahaahaha

[@brucegoodwin634]

My take away: creativity & imagination and documentation of such is awesome. Missing what the kernel/value of all this is, other than a celebration of creativity & imagination. Is this more than fascinating fiction?

[@doreekaplan2589]

Thank you for this video.

[@seansullivan8150]

excellent thoughts in there....Thankyou

[@julieanderson8380]

But was not his life a demonstration of the very fine fabric between the "real and unreal". No fraud in this understanding. ❤

[@MikeBrown-dk7or]

I put the Casteneda books in the same category as the Lobsang Rampa books supposedly written by a Tibetan monk but actually were written by an Englishman. Fantasy gobbled up by gullible spiritual seekers like I was.

[@maddyw2983]

I too read the TLR books, believed them, same with CC. Funny though, a phrase I used for years and still occasionally comes to mind is from a TLR book: I radiate love and good will to you and wish for you what I wish for myself… we are one with God. And with CC, I became more conscious of my internal dialogue and thoughtful about controlled folly and more.

[@Jr-qo4ls]

Yes, same here.

[@hannesstuber222]

Lobsang Rampa was a walk in and a medium. He could remember his life in Tibet. No cheating here.

[@Luke-King-Goodman]

It’s really hard with that horrible background music. HORRIBLE

[@guillermoemiliomariaibanez339]

AND, FINALLY, WE THANK YOU, CARLITOS, FOR INTRODUCING JOY, AND LAUGHTER AND DON GENARO AND DON JUAN TO FILL OUR LIVES WITH REJOICING KNOWLEDGE!

[@Pepeekeo808]

Why are you yelling?

[@Figmentius]

awesome ty❤🙏