Sorcerer's Apprentice

[abeofarrell]

Just wondering if anyone has read Sorcerer's Apprentice by Amy Wallace. She claims that Castenada was a fraud, that he made everything up and used it to abuse and control others like a cult. I have not read it but have seen references to it.

 

[Ellipse]

I've not read it either :P but don't see things in black & White.

Castaneda was certainly mainly influenced by STO influences but STS too. I think he was the convergence point of a struggle. Saying he was a fraud is stupid, his books and what it contain are simply here and was/are a real gate for many of us. That he abused and controlled others like a cult have perhaps some truth due to strong the STS influence part.

 

[cholas]

Saying he was a fraud is stupid...

Amen. Anyone who has read a good amount of Castaneda's work knows it isn't all 'made up' and even if it were, the information presented is still very valuable.

The stone throwing in this case says a lot about the author.

 

[Mr. Premise]

Saying he was a fraud is stupid...

Amen. Anyone who has read a good amount of Castaneda's work knows it isn't all 'made up' and even if it were, the information presented is still very valuable.

The stone throwing in this case says a lot about the author.

Well the author knew him very well and was one of his followers so it can't be so easily dismissed. I also think Castaneda was very much STS aligned (that's what the term 'sorcerer' implies). Doesn't mean that good information didn't come through from whatever teacher he had. But accounts of his later life seem to show that he be ame unhinged and was very controlling, even cruel.

 

[abeofarrell]

I have read all the Castenada books and have gained much from them. That does not however mean I can simply ignore what someone who is recognised as having been a long term follower has written. I have gained much from the books but do not blindly accept everything written in them. There is for example no evidence at all that Don Juan even existed. We know that Carlos was an anthropology student and that before graduating he wrote the first book, possibly as part of the graduation process. Some people say that he made it all up so he could graduate, using his knowledge of the local myths combined with various other new age concepts. I am very hesitant to accept that as I can see a very clear system in the teaching which would be hard to "fake".

We know that CC died of cancer, that before he died he said he spent his days in celibacy, and yet many witnessed women coming and going, one of who has written the book and talks of sexual excesses. We also know that some of his followers commited suicide after he died. This is what I have gathered.

As I said, I have not yet read the book. I thought that as so many follow his teachings here then someone must have read it. I hoped that I could get some objective feedback, possibly researched based. If I get nothing in the next couple of days I will purchase the book and let you all know.

Regards.

 

[anart]

It's common knowledge that Castaneda was not a 'nice man' and that he used, and likely abused, a LOT of people. His life was not one that one would want to model their life after. With that said, there is information in some of his earliest works that is very valuable and that is why he is occasionally referenced here.

 

[StrangeCaptain]

Just wondering if anyone has read Sorcerer's Apprentice by Amy Wallace. She claims that Castenada was a fraud, that he made everything up and used it to abuse and control others like a cult. I have not read it but have seen references to it.

Yeah... She definitely comes across as being a shell-shocked survivor of extreme mental, emotional, and even sexual abuse though she does not claim he is a fraud in the sense of verifying his story of tutelage with Don Juan was a lie. No one has definitively pinned down his sources. Like so many before and after him, he probably created a narrative spun from many sources.

It's common knowledge that Castaneda was not a 'nice man' and that he used, and likely abused, a LOT of people. His life was not one that one would want to model their life after. With that said, there is information in some of his earliest works that is very valuable and that is why he is occasionally referenced here.

If I remember correctly, the quote about the predator's mind being somber and baroque and afraid of exposure and the story about seeing the "flyers" comes from "The Active Side of Infinity," and the detailed story about defeating a petty tyrant from "The Power of Silence." Both are later works, especially "The Active Side of Infinity." I have to wonder if he was able to write so lucidly and evocatively about that subject at that time because he was having a sort of moment of clarity about where he had gone astray. I believe it was written well after he had started his "cult." I really don't like that word now, but I am at a loss for a better word at the moment.

 

[cholas]

There are a few excerpts from chapters 3, 4 and 12 available free online for perusing.

One of the more informative places for reading dirt on Castaneda and his group(ies) can be found at _http://www.sustainedaction.org/. They surely appear to have been a 'failed' group, much like many of the Gurdjieff offshoot groups were.

Too bad because it causes people to completely disregard the message due to the inappropriate actions of the messengers and/or become distracted by their personal lives.

 

[mcb]

I read all of Castaneda's books and learned a lot from them. I could say they changed my life. But from what I have been able to glean of Castaneda himself I don't think I would regard him as any kind of role model. I had the opportunity to interact with some of his student's students at a Tensegrity workshop eight years ago at UCLA, but his students themselves are nowhere to be found. It is not a good sign.

I met some very interesting people at that event. Perhaps Castaneda was transmitting a tradition which he could not quite grasp himself, but which he could still manage to relate others in a useful way?

Now why does that make me think of Ouspensky?