English Professor on UCLA Alum Carlos Castaneda

[@canopyfields]

Carlos' book journey to Ixtlan changed my life in 1998. I was shy, cautious, quiet, and that book awakened me to train myself to take risks, take massive action, disregard failures, quiet my doubts, and erase my past.

[@ligoldragon]

1998 was an epicenter year. Stanley Meyer was assassinated on the first degree of Aries (the true year's beginning), in 1998. Sounds like you have a big role to play in this show.

[@answerman9933]

You must like fraud.

[@ligoldragon]

@@donaldjuan4934 Either we assign value to expressions or we don't at all. In the latter case, no discussion is possible or necessary.

[@ligoldragon]

@@donaldjuan4934 Sorry if I offended you with too much data.

[@SazachaNancySktghaxeeahw-rp5gd]

Good on you how’s it working so far?

[@shelleyisom2639]

I read his books many times, learned to "dream" from his books, had many experiences on my own and then took 38 of his workshops and became a warrior following intent. Castaneda was no phony. In my opinion, he's the most influential, paradigm breaking person of the 20th century. Bravo, Carlos!

[@blizzjr6091]

Hei sheley isom. Accepting or believing somthing that i cannot explain. Thats how i am After reading several books of Mr Carlos.

[@guerraflorida]

@@blizzjr6091 carlos books are based on toltec knowladge the word toltec means.. man of self-experience, belief is useless so dont believe all you read but take the challange to put in practice the teachings.

[@CyrilViXP]

They've made tons of money on you, mr. Warrior

[@narcabusevictimgermany9687]

Shelley can you teach me intent?

[@locke8847]

@@CyrilViXP 🤣 this

[@Gammadian]

Carlos never tried to represent the Yacqui Indians in any way, yet alone misrepresent them. He says clearly that though don Juan was a Yaqui, his teachings were not a Yaqui tradition but from a lineage of men of knowledge.

[@vl2614]

The white man as always trying explain and give other the impression they "know". They know nothing about this they are full of bullshit and trying yo tarnish Carlos Castaneda.

[@MrAntisound]

@@vl2614 yeah, another narrowminded person. you should take some mescal and maybe you'll wake up.

[@daniluchison]

ꕑᗩ屮ᗩ ꕑᗩ屮ᗩ Have you read his books? Carlos Castaneda never discloses the origin of the lineage but I suspect it comes directly from the founders of the civilizations around the Yucatán area. Edgar Cayce said that when Atlantis went underwaters, before it destroyed itself, small groups left the place out into the world. The Yucatán was one area, Egypt, India, the Vasque region and Peru today. The ‘knowledge’ presented by the works of Castaneda is that human beings are trapped in a Matrix imposed by another intelligence and that’s the reason we are not free. Go to my channel and check out the two videos I posted.

[@eyeameye9565]

Stop splitting hairs.

[@Boris82much]

There never was a Don Juan. He existed only in the imagination of a failing college student who, with the help of skilled editors, got lucky with a fairytale that a gullible world accepted without question.

[@dalehodges5362]

I started reading A Separate Reality while living in Laguna Beach about 1971. Payote came in potato sacks and Orange Sunshine was still available. Walked down a waterfall one night for a lifetime. Light coming from my fingers just as described ... travel light

[@-Greetings-Earthlings-]

✨Listening to this man speak makes me miss lectures every week. It feels like soul food ✨

[@Ευεξίας]

Anyone who reads Carlos Castaneda's books changes for the better because our body knows that everything written is as true as death.

[@deepsupport11]

Calling it a "Castaneda fad" seems to be an attempt by UCLA to distance itself from Castaneda, and ally itself, instead, with this politically correct view (which is quintessential academia) that 'there are all these tribes and all this variety and it's very complicated.' Yes... and... there's this amazing philosophy/teaching in Castaneda's work that doesn't get mentioned at all. But for academics to acknowledge that is conflictual, I would think, because Don Juan's teachings are pointing to experiences of consciousness that transcend the intellect (and expose it from a new point of view).

[@daniluchison]

Not UCLA but this gentleman. It would have been great to ask him if he read any of his books.

[@zekielrodriguez5229]

Wisdom is the knowledge that is useful to that who holds it. Wisdom cannot be discredited. However, people can. It’s important to know that castaneda was a brilliant con man and not someone any healthy human being should be close to. Perhaps one day, more people of the world will learn the wisdom that castaneda sought to teach. And we’ll have less spiritual teachers that abuse their power

[@pauleckert882]

I had an experience when I was in high school in a small village in North West Texas. Myself and two friends were hanging out late one evening just before dark. We began to hear noises starting with crying,then crazy laughter,then a shrill whistle. We actually saw a large bird in a tree with very human features in its face. We split up and went home quickly. We all knew it was a "lechusa" a Spanish term for a witch. The next morning at school a young woman in our first class began telling about one outside their home that terrified them all night. Us three just looked at each other because we hadn't said a word about our experience the previous night. That was 50 years ago and I can still the noises this thing made. About a year later,around 1976 I read The Teachings of Don Juan. The things he described I lived through. He was right about the twilight being the time of power when things easily go between the two worlds. I've only spoken about this a few times in my life and never told my family. I think it appeared as a warning to us teenage boys. Most of the people I grew up with have since passed

[@johnwest4097]

We have screech owls where I live also

[@snapfinger1]

Reading those books were as obligatory as turquoise jewelry & vacations in Jamaica, back in the day.

[@orindae1032]

volume to low, turned up my speaker to max and youtube to max and still cannot hear anything they are saying

[@madmaxmedia]

You are obviously not a warrior.

[@thomridgeway1438]

The people on here who state blatantly and confidently scream that Castaneda is fake never do one single thing that would show an iota of enlightenment. They never ask the question - is there more to us as Man? Look into your spirit deep inside and ask that question, and it will find a way to answer you! It doesn't matter how it answers - the universe will answer a yearning heart. Those who never seek that question are too empty, too closed and full of self importance to ever try to ask; nor would they care, and nor should we care either.

[@answerman9933]

FAKE

[@davidreay5911]

Who cares whether it's fact or fiction, it works for me. In any 'Spiritual Tradition', there will always be naysayers.

[@answerman9933]

I care that it is fake. What else do you not care about?

[@johndurrett3573]

@@answerman9933 The minute anyone takes a hallucinogenic everything is up for grabs whether its real, fake or imagined. Only by following and attempting the same, processing the results and improving on it can one truly know. I can read the bible all day but its not going to give me the experiences of the authors or the person sitting next to me. Reality is subjective.

[@jaramyjohnson7183]

All time is but a memory to reflect on the eternal self Dear friend you will be missed

[@chadkline4268]

I think its a mix of experiences and Buddhism. Most everything is derived from an eastern teaching. Eg, stalking is maintaining mindfulness, self-awareness. Various ways of meditating or using intent or awareness as a tool. His Toltec movements were based upon tai chi. Can't remember all of it, it's been decades 😊 despite how good his books were, there isn't any evidence to support anything in them as non fictional accounts. I think certainly, there would be such evidence if the books were non fiction. There would be tape recordings, or samples of substances, or photographs, or govt records, or some other materials.

[@samshuijzen]

There is an unbelievable amount of bickering in the so- called castaneda " community", which seems to be dictated by a few people who claim to be the only ones on the planet to have any idea of what the books were about. It' s sad to see the overwhelming arrogance which dominates them but hopefully that will burn up someday.

[@thedriftmc]

Why do they call Castaneda's works NOVELS???

[@deepsupport11]

It's "academically correct"

[@shelleyisom2639]

Stupidity.

[@keitkoppel2754]

Idiots

[@mrschuyler]

Because they are fiction. Don Juan never existed.

[@Kosovar_Chicken]

The work of a true academic is saying nothing of substance yet sounding smart in the process

[@zipjok8850]

I don't think carlos's information source was a yaqui. Carlos had to hide who the true source was because that was the arrangement. Yaqui are not known to use peyote.

[@Boris82much]

Why is it that common sense and the kind of intelligence Albert Einstein spoke of go out the window with so many who hold advanced degrees?

[@Alex-nr6rb]

I've spoken to some Yaqui and they HATE Casteneda. They see him as misrepresenting and exploiting Yaqui culture for his own monetary gain.

[@Uchoobdood]

Carlos was a charlatan and a fraud. His books would be so incredibly good if he presented them as the fiction they were. Sad really…

[@Alex-nr6rb]

@@Uchoobdood Agreed. I think he is brilliant in that he was able to present a huge array of beliefs and philosophies in an utterly compelling format. But the fact that he presented all of this as reality has been a huge detriment to many people. Likely he believed his own fiction to some degree. Especially tragic with regards to his women apprentices, whom he likely inspired to jump off some remote cliff somewhere in an effort to 'transcend physical reality'.

[@Alex-nr6rb]

I really wish that a credentialed philosophical historian would analyze and pick apart these books. I think they are brilliant, but I have never found a respectable analysis by anyone with real qualifications.

[@butoeskor6]

@@Alex-nr6rb Go and get the qualifications yourself . What Don Juan said is true , so dont waste your time.. Like Don Juan said ," El camino que tiene corazon" is the design of the Man of knowledge ,thousand of years ago .... If you have the guts ,, try to follow it.... si tienes guevos ,, trata de entrar al nagual , rompe la burbuja y veraz el poder frente a frente.....

[@am2023]

Has this man even been to México??

[@designstudio8013]

Sure since he lived fairly close and was from Peru

[@answerman9933]

I have been to México. But what is that worth?

[@susanralph274]

he did it the correct way, that very few do

[@spactick]

His last statement "white america doesn't rule the world" kinda contradicts his whole speech about the variety of cultures that exist in America. You can't generalize by calling a group of people "white america", because there's simply no such thing in the first place.

[@repairdepartment5918]

Talking in circles without getting dizzy is a fine art.

[@typist73]

@@repairdepartment5918 Agreed. It's doubly wrong. 'America' is really millions of individuals - though corporate ads and media constantly threaten this. 'white' is a pigment; maybe even a pigment of their imagination ...

[@lovefeelsbest]

Does UCLA take the position that Castaneda invented Don Juan?

[@dougcooper2415]

CRANK UP THE VOLUME

[@robertle3038]

Prof. Jay Fikes was right.

[@jonathananaya]

Who listens to prize fighters?

[@viewoftheaskew]

Everyone here I hope realizes his books were fiction, albeit some very good content they were not what he purported them to be and here we see it was in part because he got an "A" in school lol.

[@escapevelocity8092]

That's what everyone says until they experience it

[@piningbuck]

The person who called out castaneda and wrote the book saying he was a lyer was a follower of l.ron Hubbard. Where is the proof he lied? Not just oh this person has a library card, where is that card? Has anyone brought forth actual proof to substantiate he lied?

[@escapevelocity8092]

@@piningbuck well said, I think those lost in reason are completely taken aback by the gravity of the content, it forces re-evaluations of previously firm grounds which the guards won't let pass.

[@zekielrodriguez5229]

@escapevelocity8092 Well that, and the fact that the Yaqui do not recognize him as depicting their culture accurately. And the stories of his cult. It’s quite convenient for previously firm grounds that someone like that, and the re evaluations of reality went hand in hand

[@willieluncheonette5843]

Castaneda was a terrific writer but those Don Juan books are fiction. And in the end Castaneda was hardly an enlightened man like Don Juan----far far from it. Sad ,really. Once you are enlightened it is impossible to fall into unenlightenment. " If there was someone like Don Juan he would be enlightened, he would be like a Buddha or a Lao Tzu - but there is nobody like Don Juan. Carlos Castaneda’s books are ninety-nine per cent fiction - beautiful, artful, but fiction. As there are scientific fictions, there are spiritual fictions also. . . . When I say fiction I don’t mean don’t read him, I mean read him more carefully, because one per cent of truth is there. You will have to read it very carefully, but don’t swallow it completely because it is ninety-nine per cent fiction. . . . On that one per cent of truth he has been able to create a big edifice. On that one per cent of truth he has been able to project much imagination. On that one iota of truth he has made the whole house, a beautiful palace - a fairy tale. But that one per cent of truth is there, otherwise it would have been impossible. This man has come across some being who knows something, and then through drugs, LSD and others, he has projected that small truth into imaginary words. Then his whole fiction is created."

[@NoLefTurnUnStoned.]

“Drugs LSD and others” Ok bro…

[@escapevelocity8092]

How silly this comment is to people who have experienced the states of being that castenada talks of. None of them experiences are fiction. castenada self admittedly had no clue what to do with his power, which is why he died an angry, selfish alcoholic, like Don Juan said he might.

[@NoLefTurnUnStoned.]

@@escapevelocity8092 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

[@MrZarkv]

Not once in all the books does he mention taking LSD

[@PeteRed-ig3fp]

​@@MrZarkvCastaneda never mentions LSD true but you're nitpicking you know what they meant...

[@Boris82much]

He's an expert on Indian fiction??? LOL! Everything Castaneda wrote was fiction!

[@shelleyisom2639]

You try writing "fiction" at that level.

[@Boris82much]

@@shelleyisom2639 I followed Castaneda's work since the 1970s. I'm not a religious person attacking his work. But I, like so many from my generation, began to question Castaneda's contradictions, his dubious claims, his timelines not matching up, his ex wife's accusations. And when I read 'The Sorceress's Apprentice', written by one of his witches of 20+ years, it was clear he was a fraud, his writings were fiction. He was an alcoholic right up to his death. His writings were wonderful but I don't like being lied to...so.

[@Boris82much]

@@Janibek35 Castaneda's stories perpetuated what Catholicism thrives on as well: FEAR. Fear of any kind of after death 'afterlife', if you don't play by the rules, submit and believe it will go bad for you. It's the biggest lie of most religions and such fear is at the base of all suffering, IMO. Do Castaneda's techniques work for you? Well that's great because they never worked for Castaneda. When he died of liver cancer he was a mean, abusive alcoholic.

[@Boris82much]

@@Janibek35 Castaneda never got good training because Don Juan Maths and Don Genaro never existed. Castaneda made it all up. He use to spend hours upon hours in the university library writing and copying from books on New Age belief systems, Mysticism, Catholicism, religious alternatives, Satanism...to create a work of fiction. His small circle of 'witches' were classic cult victims. He bounced around with each woman, always demanding sex, massages, sex, food, sex when he wanted it. They existed to please him. I'm not bringing this up because I'm a religious crusader objecting to non traditional beliefs or something. I've been involved with experiencing OBEs, The Monroe Institute, Afterlife Knowledge which deals with exploring other realities. I just object to deception, to anyone who lies for thrills and profit.

[@martitinkovich4489]

@@Boris82much All that carrying on says you were likely a brujo's bitch at one time and he dumped you for someone prettier.

[@harveythompson1756]

..doesnt sound very English to me.

[@kimward7997]

Sounds racist rife with affirmative action

[@jonathananaya]

Trump 2024!