Was Castaneda Right?

I've had two "seeing" experiences, but briefly. Have had some very potent seeing experiences in dreaming/OOBE states but those are much, much harder to assimilate and fully understand.

That's cool. I can only imagine what it must be like.

I've had several experiences that have defied my reason...cause my mind to completely collapse. But I recovered from them and lived to tell the tale.

A few of them I shared on my thread about the personal experience of knowledge.

The blackouts though are the most intriguing to me. I've had two blackout experiences when under conditions of extreme energetic stress. One was brought on by my encounter with what I can only describe as 'the old man'....a man I encountered in a laundry room several times in '04.

The last time I encountered him, after I told him that I hoped we would meet again, he assured me with a knowing smirk that we wouldn't. And we haven't.

The closest I came to 'seeing' was when I was sitting in a bathtub holding my supposed 'power crystal' and noticed a small point of light flying around the room. Soon after that I lost the crystal...or rather...left it behind in a swimming pool.

I've had lots of strange logic defying experiences...although for the last 8 years or so everything has been relatively quiet.

It is interesting that Castaneda's don Juan and other teachers were circumspectly negative about the concept of reincarnation. Regardless of those truths, "death" is the only "reliable adviser."

Even one who has clear past life memories does not really have proof that reincarnation exists.

I like these passages from Marivi de Teresa's 'Pieces of the Puzzle', which provide a view which both explains past life memories, and yet does not force those memories necessarily into a chain of beads as the necklace of a particular owner, but rather they associate more like Pieces of a Puzzle.

I see here the compatibility of both the Nagualistic and Reincarnation points of view-


(I think a new official english version of this and other interesting works is now available through [link to www.phpbbplanet.com] This is my personal translation from Spanish from several years ago.)

It may be interesting to note that most all of Carlos Castaneda's public lectures in Mexico were hosted by the Mexican Buddhist society, Casa Tibet, and that this excerpt of an interview with Marivi was taken from Casa Tonali in San Antonio EDM MX, which is a Buddhist retreat where Marivi was in residence at the time.

At first glance Castaneda's philosophy is anti-reincarnation, but upon closer review it looks like a more subtle impersonal view of reincarnation, where instead of an individuals ego which takes possession of a supposed chain of lives, is replaced with more of a jigsaw puzzle, where incarnations lie only as far as one is able to access them.

More than one person may access the past life memories of Napolion, but in chronological history there was "only one Napolion". But it is nothing to lend onesself importance, because the world could be full of egoistic Napolion (or Cayce) reincarnatons, and the argument they would have between eachother, and all the naysayers, won't do the population any good.

Neither can reincarnation be proven or dis-proven ultimately, and that in terms of experience, "possession is 9/10ths of the law", and that "We are not lineal. We are cyclical", only that this waking dream we call reality is indeed mysterious, and that we are navigators of awareness.

Last Edited by ehecatl on 08/31/2012 05:37 PM

Interesting posts.

I'll be back on Tuesday, OP.

Have a good weekend.

I believe that before conception we possessed our memories, but from the moment of conception onward each individual embarks on a journey through life, in which our primary purpose is to regain and/or retain what memory we lost (or had stolen from us) in this World. Our goal is to remember who we really are.

As a mother of three children all born with varying degrees of birth-trauma (one of which had almost no trauma at birth or during gestation), and who all endured varying degrees and types of Worldly traumas (of every kind), both in childhood and throughout their young lives -- I've been in a position to witness how those traumas seem to wipe out their memories of who they really are. The result is what I call "identity crises"; and it's very heart-wrenching to watch your own children lose, to greater or less extents, their Selves, in and/or to this World.

The same thing happened to me, and seems to happen to most Human beings, especially during youth and adolescence. And although I was one of the fortunate ones, who somehow instinctively 'knew' that everything is energy more so than matter, nevertheless it took many years for me to 'find myself' again. And yes, I spent many, many long hours in recapitulation, because I was determined and somehow driven to succeed. My sanity depended on it.

As for the question of why we aren't allowed to retain our memories from birth (after all, we're born at a distinct disadvantage with our very weak infant bodies depending on our parents for our very survival, which further subjects us to the potential for injury through various traumas) -- I'm not absolutely sure of the reason.

Except, maybe part of it is that life itself is a test to see whether or not we will wake up to these facts, and take it upon ourselves (both individually and collectively) to wisely ~manage our environments in such a way as to reduce, as much as possible, further traumas to ourselves and future generations. To do so successfully, would require a lot of caring, ~loving attention to the problem. That's an issue, in a society where many individuals of every educational level are unable to even ~define terms like "love", "caring", etc..

So far, as a Civilization we've failed that task, although superficially at least, our "leaders" proclaim to have only our best interests at heart. However, on the whole, judging from the ~results of most of their decisions and policies (all with wideranging effects on the entire population), it's obvious that something about their system(s) isn't working correctly. Because, there's been little improvement and in many cases there's been only more deterioration and destruction of both Human beings and our environment/habitat -- in turn, further robbing people (and even animals, plants) of not only life, but of our very ~memories (thus our sense of identity).

It's much easier to enjoy some measure of success as an individual, or better yet (though harder to achieve), as a family group, than to try to redirect the 'herd' in the right direction. That must be due to the fact that so many people have lost their memories already. They've lost their true Selves, their identities, and either can't or don't want to recoup them. And it must also be due to the fact that ~most people in positions of power, authority, or fame, are (and have been, historically) hopelessly lost and confused.

But what would we be like, if we were never in danger (through traumas) of losing our memories and therefore our Selves? We'd be God-like, I think (in the truest sense of the word). We'd be true children of God, our Creator. Like the healthiest of infants, we would be deliriously happy all the time (or, at least very calm and at peace with ourselves and others). We would worry about very little, because there wouldn't be that much to be concerned about (ie wars, enemies, etc.). We wouldn't live in fear of accidental death either, because we would feel secure in our spiritual knowledge. At the same time, such an existence devoid of dog-eat-dog competition and struggles for basic survival (not to mention greed-based materialism), would reduce the incidence of accidents anyway.

Maybe that's what happened to Adam and Eve, when they ate from the tree of knowledge of "good AND evil" (as opposed to only "good"): they became confused and forgot who they really were. The Ancients went from living forever, to lifespans of 'only' hundreds of years, to what we see now: very short lives.

For what it's worth I was a person born with significant fragments of "past life memories" of about a half a dozen past lives, and also significant memory fragments of the realities "between lives".

These are not only for sure my "earliest memories", but my mother and grandmother confirmed me speaking of these things when I first learned to talk. Lot's of technical things that no baby can possibly know about.

But even that does not prove ownership by me to a discrete chain of incarnations (which would satisfy the ego and death-worry immensely), but rather perhaps a close interconnectedness with previous incarnations.

Quick question,


Castaneda had conversations with many entities, is that right?

See, life itself is not expendable (whether or not reincarnation is real), because our embodied lives are meant to be a means for us to express our souls (the divine parts of us which are from God, our Creator) in a physical, material fashion. That's why in addition to souls, we also have minds, emotions (spirits), and bodies... Living in the material World is like a form of ~recreation for our souls (or should be).

So, life in this World (as terrible as it has now become in many ways, due to the "Parasite") is (or ought to be) very precious. Instead of hating life and wishing that it was all over already, all the living should be loving life and enjoying it immensely. But in order to do so, we can't allow the "Parasite" to feed upon us and our loved ones.

So, as recognizing who we really are (remembering) brings us great joy and beauty, it is also by knowing who and/or what the "Parasite" is, which allows us to overcome it. Our purpose is to overcome that "Parasite" (which some call, the "Beast").

The reason so many people don't fight or work against it, is because of course without their memories, they are unable to recognize what it actually is that feeds upon them. Many are so sound asleep that they barely even realize (if at all) that anything is amiss. And some are so confused, that they mistake the "Parasite" which devours them, for something glamorous, pleasurable and entertaining.

I'm sure that if enough people were able and willing to wake up from the 'maya', the mass illusion to which they subscribe, we would easily overcome the "Parasite". And it might involve some bloodshed, but probably not nearly as much as what we witness in the World now, on a daily basis. And overcoming the "Parasite" would naturally mean a fairly quick end to the most unspeakable atrocities which now rob us and our fellow Human beings of Life, Liberty, and Happiness.

But there's one little problem: the chances of that many people waking up in time to save the World and all of Humanity from complete destruction by the "Parasite" are very slim. To state it simply, too much damage has already been done. That's why I (like a few others) believe only Divine intervention will rescue us from the nightmare... The World we live in, wasn't meant to be a hell-hole; it is supposed to be our Eden. And as joyful as I am within my own mind, heart and spirit, I can't be satisfied with it as long as even one innocent person suffers needlessly. I can't just look the other way and pretend all is well, simply because I'm mostly well. I 'know' their suffering; I 'feel' their pain.

Death is not supposed to be the right solution to our pain and suffering, although it can be if necessary. I'm not talking about suicide, which is violence to the Self -- therefore always wrong. What I mean is that when death is inevitable, we must meet it with faith, grace and dignity, to the best of our abilities. In some cases, we must be willing to risk our lives so that others might be delivered from danger.

The true answer to the problem of suffering, is to ~overcome evil. Parasite = Beast = Evil.

So do you.

What of it?

No I'm not, LOL.

Castenada found a way to cast through spirits. NO????

MANY, many spirits. ??


AM I wrong?????


I AM NOT, through them I AM NOT!!!!

No I'm not, LOL.

Castenada found a way to cast through spirits. NO????

MANY, many spirits. ??


AM I wrong?????


I AM NOT, through them I AM NOT!!!!

No I'm not, LOL.

Castenada found a way to cast through spirits. NO????

MANY, many spirits. ??


AM I wrong?????


I AM NOT, through them I AM NOT!!!!

............ seems quite a few people here didn't read , or omitted to mention the following , oft repeated by Carlos .

He printed it in each of his books.

Ready ???


" .... This book is both ethnography and allegory ... "


If you can't grasp the allegorical content and "intent" of CC's works .... then you risk being Fucked up !!

Eşhedüenlailaeişşah!

............ seems quite a few people here didn't read , or omitted to mention the following , oft repeated by Carlos .

He printed it in each of his books.

Ready ???


" .... This book is both ethnography and allegory ... "


If you can't grasp the allegorical content and "intent" of CC's works .... then you risk being Fucked up !!
[/quote


eşhedualleahillahllah.

Here's one clue ...

The "Ally" ( and there are more than one) are facets of the "self" .... and they are "without form" .... they need to be understood and integrated (made impeccable?) if we are to reach our "true self".

He went into with many inteties.


1st question: what that the entities look LIKE?

2nd question: did these entities look like any other human with errors?

3rd question: Why are you believing the hype that the the entities we are talking about actually mean the U.F.O's ???

Castenada was BULLSHIT!



:))

Let him cast any SPELLS if he can me!!!

I Let HIM a STRONGER one!


LET HIM!

If he-she goes this way, IT is the GREATEST SIN EVER!!


UP to their choice!

Casteneda may well have been a "bullshitter" ...... if you take what he wrote as a literal description of "the world".

The main thrust , i feel , of the "don Juan Matus' " message is ....

We are nothing but feelings , thoughts are external ... ???

(i.e) we can select "thoughts" at will ....... and group activity "raising the lodge" reflects the dynamic between thought and feeling.

Idiot.
Reality filtered through a primitive desert cult paradigm.

I can see a djinn in someone's underpants by the All Seeing Eye of Agamotto.

Kind of saw the main thrust as the advantages and practice of living as a true warrior ... spiritually, physically and mentally.

i have no qualms with that .... what i said doesn't contradict what you've said here.

Further , the "warrior" and the "stalking" are both self-directed purgatives designed to "break the shackles" of "this world" ( the one we were taught to "perceive").

One of the rather important techniques to loosen the grip 'The Web' has on you is the following. Keep in mind that what you experience within 'This Reality' - 'Your Reality', is because of agreement. You yourself agree that you perceive 'This Reality' as you perceive it. It doesn't matter which kind of subject you take as an example, it doesn't matter if you're in favor of the premise of the subject or if you're against it, when you direct your attention to a certain subject you're already in the referenced 'atmosphere/energy' of the subject, you're already in agreement, you're already attaching 'Strings' to the subject. Perhaps others of you who read this thread can explain this better than me.

Now for the technique: For one week, spend your days without ever looking directly into the eyes of other people. When you walk on the street with a lot of people, watch your steps/the floor, or look straight, but never into other peoples eye.

I don't think you've ever read books by Carlos Castaneda.

Where is that quote? I could look it up easily if it exists since I have all the works on my computer. I am sure that that is not written in every book, and I doubt that it is written in even one book, but lets have a look.

One thing that Carlos was very emphatic about in his lectures was that his books were not allegory, and I have a number of examples to that effect.