Lucid dreaming

[GS1150Pilot]

Castaneda was bad news. There are better references for people interested in dreaming-lucid or otherwise.

https://www.salon.com/2007/04/12/castaneda/

[Rob S.]

Read Journey To Ixtlan and decide if there's anything of value there.

Fiction, non-fiction, plagiarism, etc. have little relevance. Decide for yourself.

Chapters like Death Is An Adviser, A Warrior's Last Stand and The Last Battle On Earth still bring tears to my eyes.

[GS1150Pilot]

No wonder, Rob, since he plagiarized like a mad fiend.

[earlfor]

Castaneda was bad news. There are better references for people interested in dreaming-lucid or otherwise.

https://www.salon.com/2007/04/12/castaneda/

A long parade of BS and deceit.

[GS1150Pilot]

I'd take Ferriss' thoughts on lucid dreaming over a quack cult creator like Castaneda any day.

https://tim.blog/2009/09/21/how-to-lucid-dream/

[earlfor]

I'd take Ferriss' thoughts on lucid dreaming over a quack cult creator like Castaneda any day.

https://tim.blog/2009/09/21/how-to-lucid-dream/

It's usually very easy to tell the "quackers" from the cheese. Time spent reading psychology journals doesn't hurt either. heh

[argonsagas]

I'd take Ferriss' thoughts on lucid dreaming over a quack cult creator like Castaneda any day.

https://tim.blog/2009/09/21/how-to-lucid-dream/

BUT.....he never used the word "quack" and he did openly give credit to Castenada for some techniques., which he apparently uses himself.

[GS1150Pilot]

BUT.....he never used the word "quack" and he did openly give credit to Castenada for some techniques., which he apparently uses himself.

I only see that he says that he "believes" Castaneda invented them (and that is almost certainly false, knowing how Castaneda plagiarized at will). There is a much better body of research available today on spinning. I applied the word, "quack," because that is what Castaneda was. He was a predator and a shyster. If you want to read his fantasy literature, by all means do so, but know that that is what it is going in.

[argonsagas]

Prior to this thread I had not heard of Castaneda, but earlier in the thread two other members recommended his book, so I took their recommendations in good faith, and ordered the book.

[argonsagas]

Prior to this thread I had not heard of Castaneda, but earlier in the thread two other members recommended his book, so I took their recommendations in good faith, and ordered the book.

One of the things I have learned from reading books is one learns from reading books.
What is learned varies with every author, and depends on how that author makes you think, along with your willingness to learn.

I have not yet completed it, but this one is not an exception.

My thanks to those who recommended it.

[Rob S.]

One of the things I have learned from reading books is one learns from reading books.
What is learned varies with every author, and depends on how that author makes you think, along with your willingness to learn.

I have not yet completed it, but this one is not an exception.

My thanks to those who recommended it.

That would be me.

To learn how to hunt, stalk, etc. may be dismissed by some, but not me. In one of the later books, he talks about stalking your weaknesses.

Even just the chapter names can be instructive: Death Is An Advisor, Losing Self-Importance, Erasing Personal History, Assuming Responsibility.

I make no argument with those who claim Castaneda plagiarized or made things up. I'm not interested in the messenger, just the message.

[argonsagas]

Yes, it was you and while I have not looked back on the thread, I think the other person was Phred.

My thanks to both of you.

Like you, I am interested n the message(s) in the books I read and I like to think I am sufficiently open to the ideas and thoughts of others that I can consider them on their own merit and, perhaps, glean something from them .
.

[Phred]

When Chuck Yaeger started toying with the idea of breaking through the sound barrier he realized that the airplane was in conflict with the speed of sound, and instead of doing what he was conditioned to do, to try to control the plane, he did the exact opposite and gunned the plane through the sound barrier. On the ground everyone heard the sonic boom and thought he had blown up, but Yeager discovered that the plane was docile and behaved as it should because he was no longer in conflict with the sound barrier. The human condition is similar as we all have this mental chatter. Don Juan brings Carlos Castenada through this mental chatter into another world where there is no mental chatter through the use of psychotropic hallucinogenic plants and through what he calls SEEING.
I have some personal experience with going through this process, without the use of hallucinogenic plants, but by doing the exact opposite of what social conditioning had taught me. The first time it was very un-nerving as I had suddenly stepped into a vastly different paradigm of thought. It became easier after that by ditching the mental chatter which, by the way always fills the void, and achieving specific goals with an unbending intent.
Through his dialogue with Don Juan, Casteneda is able to language this other world that is free of the encumbrances that we face daily.

[Rob S.]

I believe you're referring to "stopping the world," as a means to "seeing."

Chuck Y. may have been employing "not doing," which is a very interesting concept. For instance, the doing of looking at trees consists of looking at the leaves and the branches, which we all learned very young. Not doing would be looking at the spaces in between.

[argonsagas]

When Chuck Yaeger started toying with the idea of breaking through the sound barrier he realized that the airplane was in conflict with the speed of sound, and instead of doing what he was conditioned to do, to try to control the plane, he did the exact opposite and gunned the plane through the sound barrier. On the ground everyone heard the sonic boom and thought he had blown up, but Yeager discovered that the plane was docile and behaved as it should because he was no longer in conflict with the sound barrier. The human condition is similar as we all have this mental chatter. Don Juan brings Carlos Castenada through this mental chatter into another world where there is no mental chatter through the use of psychotropic hallucinogenic plants and through what he calls SEEING.
I have some personal experience with going through this process, without the use of hallucinogenic plants, but by doing the exact opposite of what social conditioning had taught me. The first time it was very un-nerving as I had suddenly stepped into a vastly different paradigm of thought. It became easier after that by ditching the mental chatter which, by the way always fills the void, and achieving specific goals with an unbending intent.
Through his dialogue with Don Juan, Casteneda is able to language this other world that is free of the encumbrances that we face daily.

I have limited time to read due to other commitments, so I have not yet finished the book.

This change of thought patterning sounds like a very interesting subject in itself, and something worthy of exploration.