Recently, few of my female friends spoke highly about the books and teachings of Carlos Castaneda, Peruvian born anthropologist and founder of new age spiritual movement. Castaneda gained mass popularity back in 60s and 70s with his books about shamanism and some extreme personal stories he supposedly experienced while practicing it along with an Indian sorcerer named Don Juan. Stories that include hallucinogenic wild experiences caused by sacred plant medicine, primarily peyote.
By the twists of fate, for better or worse, I stumbled upon a discussion about the authenticity of Carlos Castaneda's tale of Don Juan before reading the book. There were claims that Castaneda fabricated his experiences. So, I approached the book not as a guide, as advertised by the author and the publisher, but decided to draw my conclusions as I read, trying to keep an open mind as much as possible.
A graduating anthropology student encounters an old Indian mystic from the Yaqui tribe and goes to learn from him through personal experiences involving various rituals and hallucinogenic plants, all intertwined with life lessons he receives. A cliché.
The belief that the character of Don Juan is a work of literary fiction, and the vivid stories are a product of the author's imagination combined with reconstructed research on the ancient Toltec and related tribes, is hard to shake off. I hold this belief not because I refuse to believe that altered states of consciousness can lead to a temporary metamorphosis into an animal or that evil demons can seize us when we are vulnerable or playing with the boundaries of reality. I simply formed this impression by getting to know the author through his notes.
As someone always eager to learn about ancient shamanic traditions, I hoped to enjoy the book and go through the entire series. But considering that the author presented lies in the book, did not conduct field research, Don Juan did not exist, and the traditions of the Yaqui people were not authentically portrayed, we part ways here and now.
The author seems like an extremely egotistical person, intelligent enough to seduce gullible enthusiasts eager for New Age spirituality. Reading the book, I feel like it's written by someone who has lost their soul and lacks humanity. How can one take advice seriously from such a person? The teachings, at least in this first book, are extremely mundane, childish, and devoid of depth, essence, and substance. Perhaps that's exactly what the hippie movement needed in the 1960s.
Numerous experiments with hallucinogenic plants seem like useless ego trips rather than rituals designed to gain insight into a real problem. The author allegedly barely survives an attack in the "alternative" reality (read: hallucination) several times, and his guide, the old shaman, allows it to happen, even encouraging it. He constantly fills the author's head with horror stories and leaves him in the lurch. At one point, the author's soul is supposedly stolen!
All of this leads me to believe that this is a (poorly) contrived construction for personal gain rather than conveying knowledge that would benefit humanity. The work of a spiritually fraudulent charlatan devoid of any true humility. I won't even touch on the scandalous life he was leading in his mansion together with several young women and their death or disappearance after his death, you can research that if you choose to study the author.
His behavior contradicts the teachings he preached. His writings have only done harm to the true spirit of the shamanic people and their traditions.
If we assume that the story is fabricated, which is increasingly becoming evident as a fact, does it have any literary value? No. Some parts were bizarrely imagined and interesting. It's told as a sequence of hallucinogenic trips in the form of a diary that resembles the scribbling of an untalented teenager under the influence of opioids. The form is as follows: Castaneda participates in a ceremony with bizarre results, after which, shocked and traumatized, he begins to ask Don Juan a bunch of stupid questions (both he and I are irritated by the narrator), to which Don Juan either does not respond or responds superficially, yielding nothing useful. And so on. The narrator learns nothing from his "journeys" except the most basic aspects. The book has no philosophical, spiritual, or literary value. On the contrary, it can only be dangerous.
I know Castaneda's followers are die hard idol worshipers and if any is reading this then sorry my views on it are quite different.
I didn't finish the last part of the book, which consists of the author's sad, pseudoscientific attempt to find meaning in these experiences and present it to readers. I can draw conclusions on my own.
2/5 stars
As I remember (read book 20 years ago or so), this was author's idea: the experiences of the main character in the first book are shallow since it is just the very first layer of learning. Peyote was a tool to attract the main character and adapt him to the world of mystical practices which you can describe as magic and witchcraft.
I was impressed by the books as fiction but never had an idea why somebody would want to repeat these dark adventures. I didn't finished the book series though.
The problem is that these books are advertised to be author's personal experience (which I don't believe they are, but rather a work of fiction) and thus it influenced people all over the world to look at him like he is some type of shaman guru and want to join his cult. He lived with I believe 5 women who disappeared immediately after his death, remains of the one where found in the desert few years later.
Like I said, I would understand it if these are considered a fictional stories of some character, but people get hooked - few people I know worship him which I find troublesome. Not that I'm against experimenting with psychedelic mushrooms and DMT plants, but I don't encourage cult-like behaviors and pretending to be something one is not in order to sway people.
I'm glad you found the way to enjoy the books. :)
Agree, it's weird and not productive to create a cult out of this.
Neither am I. Alas, only the first book is focused on psychedelics. And that book is entertaining but not educational.
Book 1: Mescalito - 154 matches, peyote - 60 matches.
Book 7: Mescalito - 0 matches, peyote - 0 matches.
People turn into animals in these books... Anybody has a right to believe in anything but... when some of your friends, who speak highly about the teaching, can turn into a bird, please tell me. :D