11-24-2011, 12:00 AM
Diamond Unicorn wrote:
Seriously if you found out truly that Castaneda lied about everything and there was no 'don Juan', you would not look at 'Nagualism' quite in the same way...It really doesn't matter what Castaneda said or did, what was lies and what is truth. If I found out that everything he ever said was a lie, it would not invalidate my own experiences. Nagualism is a way of life - not a religion. It is a way of be-ing, not a way of thinking, and definitely not a matter of believing something you read in a book. I had already experienced many of the things described in Castaneda's works LONG BEFORE I ever read anything he wrote. So his books were primarily validation for me, and not something I set out to try to recreate. For those who have tried to recreate CC's experience, I imagine it will almost always end in failure, disappointment, and bitterness. Burying oneself in the earth will not make one an enlightened Nagual anymore than nailing oneself to a cross will make one Jesus.
So in the big picture, it doesn't matter if Castaneda lied. Truth is in your own experience, not in someone else's words.
Those who claim to have been "hurt" by Castaneda obviously need somewhere to lay the blame for their own failures or shortcomings. Kinda like trying to blame some imaginary "Satan" for all the troubles of the world, when the simple truth is that people create their own reality. God, Satan, and Castaneda are off playing poker for pennies. Each and every human is on their own.
Seriously if you found out truly that Castaneda lied about everything and there was no 'don Juan', you would not look at 'Nagualism' quite in the same way...It really doesn't matter what Castaneda said or did, what was lies and what is truth. If I found out that everything he ever said was a lie, it would not invalidate my own experiences. Nagualism is a way of life - not a religion. It is a way of be-ing, not a way of thinking, and definitely not a matter of believing something you read in a book. I had already experienced many of the things described in Castaneda's works LONG BEFORE I ever read anything he wrote. So his books were primarily validation for me, and not something I set out to try to recreate. For those who have tried to recreate CC's experience, I imagine it will almost always end in failure, disappointment, and bitterness. Burying oneself in the earth will not make one an enlightened Nagual anymore than nailing oneself to a cross will make one Jesus.
So in the big picture, it doesn't matter if Castaneda lied. Truth is in your own experience, not in someone else's words.
Those who claim to have been "hurt" by Castaneda obviously need somewhere to lay the blame for their own failures or shortcomings. Kinda like trying to blame some imaginary "Satan" for all the troubles of the world, when the simple truth is that people create their own reality. God, Satan, and Castaneda are off playing poker for pennies. Each and every human is on their own.