04-17-2003, 12:00 AM
As I heard don Juans explanation I got terribly worried. Even though I had never considered myself to be a practicing Catholic, I was shocked by his blasphemous implications. I had been politely listening to him, yet I had been yearning for a pause in his barrage of sacrilegious judgments in order to change the subject. But he went on drumming his point in a merciless way. I finally interrupted him and told him that I believe that God exists.
He retorted that my belief was based on faith and, as such, was a secondhand conviction that did not amount to anything; my belief in the existence of God was, like everyone elses, based on hearsay and not on the act of seeing, he said
What he had said put me in a state of great distress. But he seemed unconcerned with my genuine turmoil. He kept on needling me with what he called the unforgivable crime of the chance seers, which makes us focus our irreplaceable energy on something that has no power whatsoever to do anything. The more he talked, the greater my annoyance. When I became so annoyed that I was about to shout at him, he had me change into yet a deeper state of heightened awareness. That blow sent me soaring into a radiant light, into a diaphanous source of the most peaceful and exquisite beatitude. That light was a haven, an oasis in the blackness around me.
From my subjective point of view, I saw the light for an immeasurable length of time. The splendor of the sight was beyond anything I can say, and yet I could not figure out what it was that made it so beautiful. Then the idea came to me that its beauty grew out of a sense of harmony, a sense of peace and rest, of having arrived, of being safe at long last. I felt myself inhaling and exhaling in quietude and relief. What a gorgeous sense of plentitude! I knew beyond a shadow of doubt that I had come face to face with God, the sourse of everything. And I knew that God loved me. God was love and forgiveness. The light bathed me, and I felt clean, delivered. I wept uncontrollably, mainly for myself. The sight of that resplendent light made me feel unworthy, villainous.
I passionately resented what don Juan was saying; I rebelled against his blasphemous, sacrilegious words. I wanted to tell him off, but I could not break the binding power of seeing. I was caught in it.
It was at that point that I realized something about the voice in my ear. It was not don Juans although it sounded very much like his voice.
As I gazed into the light with all the passion I was capable of, the light seemed to condense and I saw a man. A shiny man that exuded charisma, love, understanding, sincerity, truth. A man that was the sum total of all that is good.
The fervor I felt on seeing that man was well beyond anything I had ever felt in my life. I did fall on my knees. I wanted to worship God personified, but don Juan intervened.
--From Carlos Castanedas book The Fire From Within
MY COMMENTARY:
So dont any of you people
Try to convince me that Carlos Castaneda
Had no love for God!
I challenge anyone
To find any place in any of Castanedas books
Where Carlos speaks as glowingly well
About homosexuals!!!!!!
Sharing the truth is not "gay bashing". Carlos obviously adored beautiful women no matter what he purportedly said. There is no indication that he adored homosexuals and that is the God's honest truth!
Sharing the God's honest truth is not "gay bashing".
Christians are proud of being so and I feel that homosexuals should be ready to defend the 'virtue' of their beliefs. Unfortunately, there is no virtue to homosexuality that I can see. Please correct me if I am wrong.
Castaneda's love for God was obvious no matter what Corey may say. Corey Donovan does not know what the hell he is talking about!
Think about it. There is no way Castaneda could have put down homosexuality without angering the entire world-wide gay community. The only way he could do so was to put down sex altogether.
Tantricas would agree that sex is sacred and must be done in specific manners if it is to have any worthwhile benefit to the being. Carlos was obviously putting down indiscriminate sex with no intent other than indulgent self-gratification and any wise person would be correct in doing so!
He retorted that my belief was based on faith and, as such, was a secondhand conviction that did not amount to anything; my belief in the existence of God was, like everyone elses, based on hearsay and not on the act of seeing, he said
What he had said put me in a state of great distress. But he seemed unconcerned with my genuine turmoil. He kept on needling me with what he called the unforgivable crime of the chance seers, which makes us focus our irreplaceable energy on something that has no power whatsoever to do anything. The more he talked, the greater my annoyance. When I became so annoyed that I was about to shout at him, he had me change into yet a deeper state of heightened awareness. That blow sent me soaring into a radiant light, into a diaphanous source of the most peaceful and exquisite beatitude. That light was a haven, an oasis in the blackness around me.
From my subjective point of view, I saw the light for an immeasurable length of time. The splendor of the sight was beyond anything I can say, and yet I could not figure out what it was that made it so beautiful. Then the idea came to me that its beauty grew out of a sense of harmony, a sense of peace and rest, of having arrived, of being safe at long last. I felt myself inhaling and exhaling in quietude and relief. What a gorgeous sense of plentitude! I knew beyond a shadow of doubt that I had come face to face with God, the sourse of everything. And I knew that God loved me. God was love and forgiveness. The light bathed me, and I felt clean, delivered. I wept uncontrollably, mainly for myself. The sight of that resplendent light made me feel unworthy, villainous.
I passionately resented what don Juan was saying; I rebelled against his blasphemous, sacrilegious words. I wanted to tell him off, but I could not break the binding power of seeing. I was caught in it.
It was at that point that I realized something about the voice in my ear. It was not don Juans although it sounded very much like his voice.
As I gazed into the light with all the passion I was capable of, the light seemed to condense and I saw a man. A shiny man that exuded charisma, love, understanding, sincerity, truth. A man that was the sum total of all that is good.
The fervor I felt on seeing that man was well beyond anything I had ever felt in my life. I did fall on my knees. I wanted to worship God personified, but don Juan intervened.
--From Carlos Castanedas book The Fire From Within
MY COMMENTARY:
So dont any of you people
Try to convince me that Carlos Castaneda
Had no love for God!
I challenge anyone
To find any place in any of Castanedas books
Where Carlos speaks as glowingly well
About homosexuals!!!!!!
Sharing the truth is not "gay bashing". Carlos obviously adored beautiful women no matter what he purportedly said. There is no indication that he adored homosexuals and that is the God's honest truth!
Sharing the God's honest truth is not "gay bashing".
Christians are proud of being so and I feel that homosexuals should be ready to defend the 'virtue' of their beliefs. Unfortunately, there is no virtue to homosexuality that I can see. Please correct me if I am wrong.
Castaneda's love for God was obvious no matter what Corey may say. Corey Donovan does not know what the hell he is talking about!
Think about it. There is no way Castaneda could have put down homosexuality without angering the entire world-wide gay community. The only way he could do so was to put down sex altogether.
Tantricas would agree that sex is sacred and must be done in specific manners if it is to have any worthwhile benefit to the being. Carlos was obviously putting down indiscriminate sex with no intent other than indulgent self-gratification and any wise person would be correct in doing so!