Tao and Carlos Castaneda

[MatthewQi]

I have read two Carlos books recently, The active side of infinity and journey to Ixtlan. Especially in journey his experiences with stopping the world and the description of merging with ones ally are experiences that myself and others I know have experienced (no-nothing to do with mind altering substances).

 

I just got another one of his books out of the library and my wife was like, oh, nice to finally see that you are reading some fiction (I pretty much only read non-fiction- and I was like, huh? this isn't fiction it is real but his books are classified as fiction.

 

One of the things that Don Juan said to Carlos was that both of these worlds were not real. This is like what Max was saying to me about both real life and god experiences both being illusory. I originally equated this other aspect as being the astral and not powerful in terms of energy, but this aspect is still part of Maya. In Hindu, and in Tao, the highest states are desribed as a sort of god consciousness. With the Supreme Reality being the ground that supports both real life and supra conscious experience but it is beyond that. It is consciousness itself which supports Maya, Kundalini, taichi, etc. Described in Hindu as Brahman, in Taoism as Tao, in Zen (can't tell you or you will know the answer ).

 

Om,

 

Matt

[olddemon]

I have read two Carlos books recently, The active side of infinity and journey to Ixtlan. Especially in journey his experiences with stopping the world and the description of merging with ones ally are experiences that myself and others I know have experienced (no-nothing to do with mind altering substances).

You should read all his books (if that's not already done (including "magical passes"), the two Florinda Donner-Grau's books and Taisha Abelar one's if you want to have a clear view.

I'm don't sure that I understood (I'm not english-speaking...): you have some "allies" ?

 

I originally equated this other aspect as being the astral and not powerful in terms of energy, but this aspect is still part of Maya

The astral dimension is illusory, astral/mental refering to emotions and impressions and the mental, thoughts but it's not all. Like you wrote it, we don't have enough energy and the concepts imprison us.

[Taomeow]

You should read all his books (if that's not already done (including "magical passes"), the two Florinda Donner-Grau's books and Taisha Abelar one's if you want to have a clear view.

I'm don't sure that I understood (I'm not english-speaking...): you have some "allies" ?

The astral dimension is illusory, astral/mental refering to emotions and impressions and the mental, thoughts but it's not all. Like you wrote it, we don't have enough energy and the concepts imprison us.

 

 

I read them all, except for Florinda's. A lot of it has parallels in proto-taoist shamanic practices I'm into. This world would be classified as a 'petty tyrant' in Don Juan's terms, and the nonordinary reality, as a 'great tyrant.' No one can handle the great tyrant who hasn't mastered the petty tyrant, and no one can get to freedom who hasn't mastered the great tyrant. So, to Don Juan and early taoist classics, the point about any "ultimate reality" is absolutely moot for all practical purposes -- no one will experience it who hasn't mastered what they so hastily discard as "illusion," Maya, and so on. Mastering this "illlusion" is a prerequisite. Don't discard it in anticipation of a "bigger better more real" one, because if you do, you are discarding the "bigger better more real" -- and according to Don Juan and some very reputable taoist sources (e.g. the immortals Lu and Ch'ang), irreversibly. Freedom and reality ain't no freebies... step carefully inside this illusion, your footprints may seem illusory to you but they do penetrate all the way to the fabric of reality and can shape your way into it -- or away from it.

 

Don Juan insisted on wearing impeccable tailor-made suits in public. Ask yourself why!

 

This "impeccability" he keeps insisting on harkens to the taoist Three Treasures of Perfection, Nondecay, Immortality. They are not just three treasures -- they are a sequence of steps to follow... Impeccability, perfection, is the first step. The non-taking of this step equals no access to the other two.

[Neijia]

I've read all of them, besides the Grau and Abelar. Weird enough, I actually had a dream last night, about the parallels between Taoism and Carlos Castaneda... Strange.

 

Anyway.

 

I suppose I'll have to go and reread all of them. And maybe the Grau and Abelar.

 

 

Like the new pic, Taomeow

[seadog]

Fiction or otherwise at the core of of tao or Castaneda is the exprience of being human.The great adventure of exploration into what it means to be fully human.To exprience all we can, not to gain power over others or for some petty cause.To exprience all we can born from our great affection even lust for life.

[宁]

Only after I dashed thru all the info I could gather on Castaneda, I could understand, and that much later, when I started the taoist practice... that he was a perfect Stalker.

He wrote more than 10 books, and the witches wrote a couple of them too, just to say ONLY what he wanted to say, the amount he found necessary ONLY to carry out some mistery mission Don Juan gave him, and that he never spoke about for real.

That in itself is a great accomplishment.

And my "great accomplishment" is just figuring out his scheme.

Its great and humble and lusty and honorable and vital.

 

The Chinese people do the same. For a man to get close to a Chinese and find out his secrets, he must become "one of the family". And when you do, you dont belong to yourself anymore. Neither did CC.

He just did his duty, which liberated him from the doubts and quarrels of abiding or not to morality...

 

Little

[olddemon]

Taomeow>

A lot of it has parallels in proto-taoist shamanic practices I'm into.

Can you write more about those practices please?

Do you have some books and/or websites which relate them, talk about them,...?

 

I also find there's many things which are apparently similar between tao and way of warrior.

 

Don Juan insisted on wearing impeccable tailor-made suits in public. Ask yourself why!

That's because other people contribute to enclose us in our way of being, our habits,...

 

About the different books (includ Florinda's ones) you should search on eMule or another P2P program.

 

 

Neijia>

Weird enough, I actually had a dream last night, about the parallels between Taoism and Carlos Castaneda... Strange.

Can you write about it?

 

About the Donner-Grau's and Abelar's books they are interesting. In fact, they emphasize differences about women in the way of warrior, the fact that they use their womb,...

 

 

Little1>

He wrote more than 10 books, and the witches wrote a couple of them too, just to say ONLY what he wanted to say, the amount he found necessary ONLY to carry out some mistery mission Don Juan gave him, and that he never spoke about for real.

We'll never know what is "real" and what is not. It doesn't matter...

[Neijia]

Neijia>

 

Can you write about it?

 

About the Donner-Grau's and Abelar's books they are interesting. In fact, they emphasize differences about women in the way of warrior, the fact that they use their womb,...

It involved the scene from the second book (I believe), with the Nagual, and how some of the phenomena was a lot like qinggung... which set off a list of comparisons (I have odd dreams) involving changing the point of perception through stillness, some of the basic techniques offered in the Art of Dreaming (tongue to roof of mouth connecting the Du and Ren channels, applying pressure near the lower dantien with a stone) and being locked in a box to recapitulate (which melded with Wang Liping's early exercises to to quiet his mind).

 

A lot of undoing. Or not doing? I'm going off 5 year old memory here.

 

Aside from the dream, it's been on my mind for a bit, and it's nice to see that others have noticed the similiarities. A great deal of those books seem less fantastical now...

 

Parallels, coincidences, or reflections of Taoism in Mexico?

Edited December 10, 2007 by Neijia

[doc benway]

I read the first 4 books as they were published way back when... I had a lot of perception altering stuff in my system in those days. I recenlty started from the beginning and read through Castaneda's entire ouevre again and loved it. Some things I take with a grain of salt but I found the series to be very valuable and entertaining. Maybe I'll read the witches' works next...

[Ben Koontz]

Has anyone here been successful with recapitulation? I have read all of the Don Juan books, and even the Taisha Abelar(sp?) and it describes different ways of recapitulation. One was to write people you have interacted with on pieces of paper and go to a dark cave area and fill the cave up with images of the exact scenes of being with that person, while gathering your energy back, and then burning the paper. I am wondering if anyone here has done this for a large amount of their life, and if they were able to gain that energy back that they spent in the past.

I have only read it, and I have done small attempts at recapitulation, but haven't gone all out.

 

Thanks,

 

Ben

Edited December 10, 2007 by Ben Koontz

[olddemon]

Neijia>

I found similarities but if I remember well, it was more about the ways themself, not exercises. But effectively there's similarity in what you cite (but I don't know very well the way of tao).

being locked in a box to recapitulate (which melded with Wang Liping's early exercises to to quiet his mind)

I believe it's more the fact of being "buried" in a box in the "sorcery".

Is there a book about (or from) this/these Wang Liping's exercises?

Do you can describe them please?

 

Parallels, I think (but perhaps the sorcery also "borrowed" some techniques from people knowing partly at least the way of tao).

 

 

Ben Koontz>

I have read all of the Don Juan books, and even the Taisha Abelar(sp?) and it describes different ways of recapitulation.

You should search for Castaneda's interviews and the witches' ones, they precise this interrogation (but I don't remember... and I believe that it's different after the different interviews but you should look for them).

[YAN]

Hello guys,

 

What do you think of this video. what about the "power practices" they are demonstrating.

 

[Neijia]

Is there a book about (or from) this/these Wang Liping's exercises?

Do you can describe them please?

 

 

Opening the Dragon Gate

[olddemon]

Neijia>

Thank you.

 

 

YAN>

I don't know...

"Nyei", I believe, is apparently not enough confident to appear as "true".

But I have the impression to having already saw them, her and the other other ones.

 

 

About similarities between tao and warrior's way, taoists also go into parallel worlds (using a kind of incantation, if I remember well after what we told me).

Would you have informations about this (and also books talking of this)?

 

About the technique of resting many days on a tree, we also find this technique in a particular tribe of amerindians? (Anyone would know what tribe's name please?)

It is used to remember better of our dreams.

Edited December 11, 2007 by olddemon