Reason Magazine
- reason.com
- reason.tv
- reason.org
- Donate
- Site Search:
Reason on Facebook
Reason on Twitter
Reason on YouTube
Reason RSSGet Reason E-mail Updates!
Manage your Reason e-mail list subscriptionsadvertisements
Carlos Castaneda: A Yaqui Way of Nonsense
In this age of the literary hoax (J.T. Leroy, James Frey), and filmic celebrations of stylish lit hoaxes of decades gone by (The Hoax, about Clifford Irving's daring "Howard Hughes bio" scam, a hoot and a half with a best-of-career performance from Richard Gere as Irving), Salon reminds us of the saga of megabestselling "anthropologist" Carlos Castaneda.
Castaneda began a series of bestsellers in 1968 that helped make the sixties and seventies so simultaneously groovy and absurd, about how secret Indian knowledge allowed him to turn himself into crows and travel through alternate dimensions, thanks to Yaqui wise man "Don Juan." The Don himself conveniently transported himself to another dimension and out of the reach of any other anthropologists or journalists who wanted to check up on Carlos' tales.
Although Simon and Schuster to this day sells tens of thousands of his books a year as nonfiction, all scholars who have looked into Castaneda's claims are certain he was a big seller of pure fantasy bullshit in the form of tomes such as Tales of Power and The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge.
Salon's story is a very lengthy, but very entertaining, account of his checkered career and obvious lies, and the mysterious fate of the gaggle of "witches" who served him in his dying days in the late 1990s.
In that circle of witches was Amy Wallace, heroine of my youth for her role in the Book of Lists series, which taught me half of what I knew in my pre-teen years. Wallace wrote her own memoirs of her Castaneda years, far softer on the old fraud than he deserved. I reviewed that book, Sorceror's Apprentice: My Life with Carlos Castaneda , in the Washington Post. An excerpt:
The world Wallace paints isn't one of brave warriors beyond human pettiness striving for the prize of infinite life in infinite dimensions. It is more like a combination of Jackie Collins and Sweet Valley High gone wrong -- a gaggle of cruel harridans fighting for status through disturbing psychological gamesmanship in a screwy, destructive clique, vying for the approval of a squirrelly dying old man on Los Angeles's west side.
....... As the absurdities and lies of the sorcerer's world pile up, the skeptical reader can't help but lose sympathy with Wallace for not doing her own vanishing act. The closest thing to any actual mystical experience she had, after all, was a magically delicious custard dessert that Castaneda served to her. He promised his students he would show them bizarre creatures shipped in from the other dimensions in which he could supposedly travel freely, but they somehow never materialized.
......Wallace refuses to let go of her affection and respect for her Castaneda. Some think him a huckster, she admits, but "I think he was a wizard of Oz, trying hard to create a spectacle that would cause people to reach for the stars. In so doing, he failed personally, damaging some of those close to him and inadvertently spearheading a cult, the last thing he would have consciously wished to do."
Mmmmaybe. But as the Salon story has it:
Many [Castaneda] obituaries had a curious tone; the writers seemed uncertain whether to call Castaneda a fraud. Some expressed a kind of nostalgia for an author whose work had meant so much to so many in their youth. [His initial publisher at Simon & Schuster Michael] Korda refused comment. [Debunker Richard] De Mille, in an interview with filmmaker Ralph Torjan, expressed a certain admiration. "He was the perfect hoaxer," he told Torjan, "because he never admitted anything."
|4.20.07 @ 8:36PM|#
Anyway, so, yeah I read these books when I was in college. Regardless of their truthiness, they are engrossing and highly entertaining if you come upon them at the right time. I read them, took them as twisted truth or allegory, then got on with my life. I had no idea that late in his own life he became something of a guru.
|4.20.07 @ 8:57PM|#
I remember my friends took a course on Castenada in college and
would tell me all about it. I couldn't believe they offered credit
for such bullshit and worse my friends actual believed in it (not
in an allegorical way but in a "I'm gonna go fight this mystical
eagle and teleport across the world" kind of way).
That was the only time I ever thought there might be something
wrong with smoking pot (not for me but for other people).
|4.20.07 @ 9:01PM|#
At least pot and opiate users tend to be quiet. Psychedelic users never shut up.
|4.20.07 @ 10:16PM|#
Yeah, I read "A Yaqui Way of Nonsense" when I was in law school,
and felt extraordinary gratitude to the insane cops in my hometown,
the blind terror of whom kept me from ever using anything stronger
than (then) cheap German white wine. I really thing DARE should
just assign kids to read that book while listening to Grateful Dead
records sober. It'd be the end of drug culture entirely.
It makes me very sad that Amy Wallace, daughter of Irving and
inventor (I think) of the "fantasy dinner party" game got caught in
this charlatan's web. Proof of the "if you don't believe in God,
you won't believe in nothing, you'll believe in anything."
jpok|4.20.07 @ 10:23PM|#
Proof of the "if you don't believe in God, you won't believe
in nothing, you'll believe in anything."
This word, proof, I do not think it means what you think it
means.
The Wine Commonsewer|4.20.07 @ 10:42PM|#
Karen, that was truly funny stuff but I actually think that
Lileks has the best take on how to get people off the
junk....
You want to end illegal drugs? Legalize them and turn the
distribution system over to Chuck E Cheese. Make crack addicts line
up at CEC for their daily vials. People will be off that crap in a
week.
The Wine Commonsewer|4.20.07 @ 10:48PM|#
I used to go out with a chick that would astral project when she smoked dope. It was freaky. I don't even believe in that stuff, but dude, if you were there, you'd say whoa. She was also suicidal & epileptic. Saved her sorry ass twice. Second time I had to get a writ to get her out of the looney bin because they knew, man, they knew, and they were just not going to let her go. My mistake. Getting her out, I mean. Well, that and I shoulda dumped her long before I did.
|4.20.07 @ 10:50PM|#
Problem is when, how or who determines "the truth". Castaneda's lecture implies a contraculture standpoint of alternatives that -certainly, make no sense to american or occidental values or axioms. In the search not of alternate dimensions but of substitute views, Castaneda certainly continues to give a valid display of possibilities. Not to mention that, for too many, he represented a hope in a deceived world of hunger and war deaths. I would not dare to call him the "perfect hoaxer"; it would be too narrow. Poetry, philosophy and phenomenology exist.
|4.20.07 @ 10:57PM|#
I like the Chuck E. Cheese scenario. Yeah, getting your hits from a guy dressed up like a hockey-playing mouse would scare anyone off drugs. (One of the few childrearing resolutions we've kept was our flat refusal to have any birthday parties at Chuck E. Cheese. Andy has been to a couple and got violently sick both times. Not, sadly, from the food so I couldn't have the health department close the place down. Aaron's friends, thankfully, shun the place.)
|4.20.07 @ 11:11PM|#
I couldn't believe they offered credit for such
bullshit...
I had it in college English. 'Twas amusing, but clearly just as you
described it (well, either bullshit or just some guy getting wasted
and then making a big out of it). I was amazed to discover that the
teacherette seemed to take it seriously...which was more than I
could do for college English.
Make crack addicts line up at CEC for their daily
vials.
Make 'em play skee-ball and then don't give 'em their tickets.
|4.20.07 @ 11:23PM|#
making a big out of it...
...making a big deal... (arrg)
I used to go out with a chick that would astral project when
she smoked dope.
Good psychedelics can make anyone think or feel like that's
happening, but non-crazy people recognize it for what it is: games
with brain chemistry. Interesting game, though, apparently seeing
yourself from above and behind.
|4.20.07 @ 11:26PM|#
Maybe an anti-mexican immigrant case can be made from the scientific anthropologocal evidence Castaneda presents. We certainly dont need a buncha doped up brujos walkin around like Randall Flagg just doin whatever mischief they want.
|4.20.07 @ 11:28PM|#
Martin Gardner has a chapter on Castaneda in his "Fads and
Fallacies".
I would not consider that people who reject the belief in God
necessarily will fill it with any woo-woo that comes along. More
mass suicides have been carried out in the name of God/Salvation
than have been carried out in the name of Atheism.
(And anyone who thinks that Christianity hasn't had mass suicides
is invited to look at any good history of the religion. Yes, in
most cases it's been "suicide by getting whacked by the
authorities", but the result is the same: one human willfully
dead.)
|4.20.07 @ 11:40PM|#
Sorry about the Chesterton quote, I really should have looked harder. It's the only remotely relevant thing I could thing of on short notice.
|4.20.07 @ 11:55PM|#
I would have to suggest that there are more suicides by believers because they believe they are destined for better things.
dhex|4.21.07 @ 1:21AM|#
"Not to mention that, for too many, he represented a hope in a
deceived world of hunger and war deaths."
so he was a spiritual tv set? a good distraction?
personally, if you're going to pick a 20th century charlatan, how
about osho rajneesh? dude collected classic cars, was credited with
the classic line "a disciple is an asshole in search of a human to
attach itself to" and got people to pay him stupid amounts of money
to have "guilt free" sex and listen to lectures that always ended
with a 10 minute transcendental rant about the corrupting force of
government.
that's classy! everyone got something out of the deal.
"Yeah, getting your hits from a guy dressed up like a
hockey-playing mouse would scare anyone off drugs."
are you joking? i'd start just to hang out with those guys.
|4.21.07 @ 1:46AM|#
personally, if you're going to pick a 20th century
charlatan, how about osho rajneesh? dude collected classic cars,
was credited with the classic line "a disciple is an asshole in
search of a human to attach itself to" and got people to pay him
stupid amounts of money to have "guilt free" sex and listen to
lectures that always ended with a 10 minute transcendental rant
about the corrupting force of government.
Don't forget when his followers launched a botulism attack on their
non-believing neighbors.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioterrorism#1984_Rajneeshee_Salmonella_attack.
|4.21.07 @ 6:54AM|#
More mass suicides have been carried out in the name of
God/Salvation than have been carried out in the name of
Atheism.
Well, obviously. It would be quite odd if many who believed that
this life is all there is to existence, chose death for its own
sake. The quote Karen posted was saying that a person who rejects
their faith usually doesn't remain an atheist for long.
(And anyone who thinks that Christianity hasn't had mass
suicides is invited to look at any good history of the religion.
Yes, in most cases it's been "suicide by getting whacked by the
authorities", but the result is the same: one human willfully
dead.)
Now that's silly. Anyone who is willing to die for their beliefs is
committing suicide? Does that mean that anyone who volunteers for a
dangerous mission in a war zone is suicidal?
Monsters|4.21.07 @ 8:08AM|#
Note: for Richard Gere, 'best-of-career performance' still isn't very fucking good.
Fluffy|4.21.07 @ 8:59AM|#
"I think he was a wizard of Oz, trying hard to create a
spectacle that would cause people to reach for the stars. In so
doing, he failed personally, damaging some of those close to him
and inadvertently spearheading a cult..."
"Problem is when, how or who determines "the truth". Castaneda's
lecture implies a contraculture standpoint of alternatives that
-certainly, make no sense to american or occidental values or
axioms. In the search not of alternate dimensions but of substitute
views, Castaneda certainly continues to give a valid display of
possibilities. Not to mention that, for too many, he represented a
hope in a deceived world of hunger and war deaths. I would not dare
to call him the "perfect hoaxer"; it would be too narrow. Poetry,
philosophy and phenomenology exist."
I guess it doesn't matter whether it's Castenada, Edgar Cayce or
John Edwards. The hoax works because otherwise intelligent people
will go to any end to make up a rationalization for their desperate
need to believe you. Seriously, the sentiment is always the
same.
eb|4.21.07 @ 10:14AM|#
I read the first book at 18 while overseas in the Air Force. I
loved the concept of "a Separate Reality". Then I read his second
book, realized he wanted us to take him literally and decided I
wasn't as blown away as originally thought.
Same with Richard Bach, Read and loved "Illusions" around the same
time but a few years later picked up a followup, don't remember the
title, which was an account of his romance with his wife that
referred to the events of "Illusions" as having actually happened
(as well as a truckload of astral projections). To this day I still
enjoy the message of "Illusions" but could give a crap about
reading anything else by Richard Bach.
eb|4.21.07 @ 10:27AM|#
And anyone who thinks that Christianity hasn't had mass
suicides is invited to look at any good history of the religion.
Yes, in most cases it's been "suicide by getting whacked by the
authorities", but the result is the same: one human willfully
dead.
By that definition, was
this suicide?
Grotius|4.21.07 @ 1:10PM|#
...about how secret Indian knowledge allowed him to turn
himself into crows and travel through alternate dimensions, thanks
to Yaqui wise man "Don Juan."
How is that any different than the claims of "revealed religion?"
Water into wine, raising the dead, parting the waters, etc.
eb|4.21.07 @ 2:37PM|#
Grotius,
Looks like it to me although I'd be willing to bet that a few of
the kids involved were a bit reluctant.
Of course the issue isn't about clear suicide, the question I asked
came from the assertion that dying for a belief is suicide. By that
definition, as somebody else here already said, every soldier that
ever volunteered for and died in war was committing suicide. In
fact, anybody that has ever died when they had any option for their
own survival committed suicide.
"One human willfully dead." is suicide? Perhaps you can better
explain because I haven't figured it out yet.
|4.21.07 @ 2:55PM|#
"One human willfully dead." is suicide? Perhaps you can
better explain because I haven't figured it out yet.
It's a convenient standard for those who don't believe in a
religion, or a secular ideology, or presumably anything worth dying
for, or presumably even refraining from sexual activity for. Just
as convenient as the "rational argument by religious person ==
religious dogma" standard that some here apply to discussions on
abortion and other issues that certain religions have weighed in
on.
|4.21.07 @ 3:28PM|#
I read one or two of Castandeda's books when I was in college. They were kind of fun, but not as fantastic as good fantasy and not as suck-you-in believable as good "magical realism". I'm not surprised that a few kooks actually believed it, but I am surprised enough did to form a sort of cult, or to sustain college courses. A good reminder that people will believe crazy shit. (Also a good reminder that a decent living can always be had pushing crazy shit.)
Grotius|4.21.07 @ 5:13PM|#
eb,
Sure, I'd agree that it is a sloppy definition.
crimethink,
Just as convenient as the "rational argument by religious
person == religious dogma" standard that some here apply to
discussions on abortion and other issues that certain religions
have weighed in on.
That's not the argument at all. The argument is that
presuppositions inform ones views. Whether those presuppositions
are religious or secular in nature.
eb|4.21.07 @ 7:53PM|#
It's a convenient standard for those who don't believe in a
religion, or a secular ideology, or presumably anything worth dying
for, or presumably even refraining from sexual activity for. Just
as convenient as the "rational argument by religious person ==
religious dogma" standard that some here apply to discussions on
abortion and other issues that certain religions have weighed in
on.
As an agnostic I am at a loss at the antagonism from some people
towards religion as a concept. The assertion that religion is
responsible for all wars, grief,sadness, stubbed toes blah, blah,
blah is based on faulty logic. Of course religion is involved in a
lot of wars but then religion has been so deeply ingrained and
around so long that it would be hard to absent itself from that one
big issue.
Then consider the most obvious societies that rejected religion,
like the French Reign of Terror, The Soviet Union, Mao's China etc.
etc. etc. and its pretty clear that the lack of religion does
nothing to limit carnage.
So although it isn't for me, I kind of like religion (except one in
particular that's wearing me out). It seems to work for a lot of
people.
|4.21.07 @ 9:15PM|#
Never heard of this guy Castaneda.
Was his stuff the inspiration for the movie Altered
States?
|4.21.07 @ 9:40PM|#
I was thinking of whatever cult of Zealots it was that ran
around in early Christianity accosting people and demanding that
that they be martyred otherwise they'd kill them.
Also, look at many of the religious sects in history.
Christianity's history is littered with groups that decide they
have found The True Way, make nuisances of themselves to everyone
around until the authorities get fed up, accuse them of heresy, and
stamp them out. A lot of religious groups have indeed been just
wanting to live in peace and quiet, but there have also been quite
a few groups who go out actively seeking martyrdom. Great drama,
one's own soul involved in the struggle for Good and Evil, etc.,
etc., and so forth.
If these people want to be martyrs, be my guest. But I don't think
that they're the ones with Virtue on their side and the authorities
are automatically Evil. In many cases, it's the religious
equivalent of "suicide by cop."
|4.21.07 @ 9:59PM|#
Mention of the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh reminded me the day he finally got deported. One of the best NY Post headlines ever: "Let Bhagwans be Bhagwans."
dhex|4.22.07 @ 1:35AM|#
media: i think that was more john lily. if you want to see what
happens when very smart people get freaky, he's a sometimes
interesting read.
"Don't forget when his followers launched a botulism attack on
their non-believing neighbors."
that's what makes osho the fuckin' illest. he lays out that he
thinks seekers are fucking retards and what do they do? hook him up
with 93 rolls royces.* (at which point he was deported) holy
fucking shit, you know?
scientology, even with the awesome hubbard-parsons moonchild
scheme, can't really hold a candle to that kind of glossy mag
perfection.
to be fair, i think i have a greater appreciation for charlatans
than most. perhaps a bit unhealthy; i was totally jazzed to find a
kundalini yoga cult had set up shop down the block from my cma
teacher's house. crazy hats, standing out the rain...what's not to
love?
*is it mere coincidence that 93 corresponds with both love and will
in the thelemic system?**
**yeah!
Guy Montag|4.22.07 @ 2:06AM|#
Skipped most of the posts, so hope none of this is
redundant.
I remember seeing plastic models of "The Spruce Goose" (the Hughes
flying boat) with cupons for the "diary" advertised on the box. It
was a mistake and I wish I had one of them today as they will be
big collectors items too.
These days hoaxes are features, like in The New Republic
with Searching for Mr. Right by Eve Fairbanks, or almost
anything by Stephen Glass. Then there is The New York
Times with their Jayson Blair articles, and a recent book
review by Eve Fairbanks. Editing is nothing but "punching up" a
good story, like Dan Rather's "fake but accurate" fables of George
W. Bush.
The Examminer did a great job of creaing a hoax from
nothing with their "Big Shame in a Small World" article last year,
where a New York Times articls, that actually seemed
accurate and well written, was twisted into something that did not
resemble
the original in the slightest. Cell phone thieves transformed
into 'victims'? Give us all a break.
MSM is nothing more than fiction, without the fiction writers.
|4.22.07 @ 9:59AM|#
Was his stuff the inspiration for the movie Altered
States?
It was some other pschonaut whose name I can't recall. Lilly?
I'm a little fuzzy on that topic. No reason. Why do you ask?
|4.23.07 @ 9:07AM|#
about how secret Indian knowledge allowed him to turn
himself into crows and travel through alternate dimensions, thanks
to Yaqui wise man "Don Juan."
Meh, I can do that.
Well, my Tauren druid can do that in World of Warcraft.
tros|4.23.07 @ 11:37AM|#
Oh, lord. Here comes tros.
ROFL
Well, the truth is I don't realy care about Carlos Castaneda. Who
the fuck cares what he says when you have Erowid and the internet?
Still, he does talk about mushrooms and Datura and Peyote, so I
don't think his influenece has been all that bad over time. It just
annoys me when people read the whole fucking thing like its the
fucking bible or something.
Want some secret ancient Native American knowledge? Why don't you
throw a rave in the basement of the biggest dorm on MIT campus,
hotbox the place, and give out free mushrooms. The ghost of Maria
Sabina will appear to you and tell you to help get her people out
of the gulag concentration camps.
P.S. I am told by people whose opinion I respect (lycaeum.org) that
the Art of Dreaming is a good introduction to lucid dreaming.
tros|4.23.07 @ 11:43AM|#
This article is more important than how lame Carlos Castaneda
is:
http://thetyee.ca/News/2007/04/23/Feldmar/
LSD as Therapy? Write about It, Get Barred from US
Andrew Feldmar. Photo by C. Grabowski.
BC psychotherapist denied entry after border guard googled his
work.
By Linda Solomon
Published: April 23, 2007
email this article print this story
TheTyee.ca
Andrew Feldmar, a well-known Vancouver psychotherapist, rolled up
to the Blaine border crossing last summer as he had hundreds of
times in his career. At 66, his gray hair, neat beard, and rimless
glasses give him the look of a seasoned intellectual. He handed his
passport to the U.S. border guard and relaxed, thinking he would
soon be with an old friend in Seattle. The border guard turned to
his computer and googled "Andrew Feldmar."
The psychotherapist's world was about to turn upside down.
...
He was told to sit down on a folding chair and for hours he
wondered where this was going. He checked his watch and thought
hopelessly of his friend who was about to land at the Seattle
airport. Three hours later, the official motioned him into a small,
barren room with an American flag. He was sitting on one side and
Feldmar was on the other. The official said that under the Homeland
Security Act, Feldmar was being denied entry due to "narcotics"
use. LSD is not a narcotic substance, Feldmar tried to explain, but
an entheogen. The guard wasn't interested in technicalities. He
asked for a statement from Feldmar admitting to having used LSD and
he fingerprinted Feldmar for an FBI file.
ADVERTISEMENT
Tyee Fellowship Series - Global Warming Hits BC
Then Feldmar disbelievingly listened as he learned that he was
being barred from ever entering the United States again. The
officer told him he could apply to the Department of Homeland
Security for a waiver, if he wished, and gave him a package, with
the forms.
|4.23.07 @ 4:07PM|#
"I'm a little fuzzy on that topic. No reason. Why do you
ask?"
Because I remember watching that movie in my high school years and
enjoying it. And the whole "I took a psychoactive substance and
turned into an animal" thing was a big plot point in Altered
States.
Site comments/questions:
Media Inquiries and Reprint Permissions:
(310) 367-6109
Editorial & Production Offices:
3415 S. Sepulveda Blvd.
Suite 400
Los Angeles, CA 90034
(310) 391-2245