The Authenticity of Carlos Castanedas Reportage An excerpt from The End Of History 2012 James L. Desper Jr.

. The copyright of Castanedas first book, The Teachings of Don Juan, belonged to the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) where Castaneda was completing his graduate work in anthropology. To suggest that UCLAs Dept. of Anthropology would allow their academic reputation to be attached to fiction masquerading as fact is absurd. Merely because Castaneda wrote that don Juan refused to fill out forms or allow photographs or sound recordings doesnt mean that none were ever made or that UCLAs Department of Anthropology never confirmed don Juans existence. They would not have allowed the publication of the book under their aegis without such confirmation. The fact that they respected don Juans right to privacy by not discussing the means of confirmation cannot be taken to mean that such confirmation never occurred. Don Juan was sophisticated enough to know that UCLA would never allow the publication of The Teachings of Don Juan without objective confirmation. Since it was don Juans task to explain the Warriors Way to the outside world, he would have taken whatever steps were necessary. At least one sound recording of don Juans voice may exist. Castanedas second book, A Separate Reality (Further Conversations with Don Juan), states that don Juan was present at a small gathering Castaneda attended with don Juans grandson Lucio and several other men in September of 1968 and that Castaneda was documenting this meeting with a tape recorder. Castaneda did not reveal if don Juans voice was actually recorded on this tape, but the incident clearly indicates that at least one recording may exist and that don Juan was not actually averse to the possibility of having his voice recorded. Those who refer to Castanedas books as brilliant works of fiction ignore the incredibly banal existence that Castaneda lived apart from don Juan and that the true power and beauty of the books comes exclusively from don Juans own words, which could have been transcribed by anyone fluent in both Spanish and English. No one as brilliant as some claim Castaneda was could possibly have led such an idiotic life as a tyrannical, sexually obsessed control freak. Don Juan was quite serious when he introduced Castaneda to his cohorts Vicente Medrano and Silvio Manuel as by far the biggest indulger that Ive ever met. And he was certainly too stupid to have constructed the Warriors Way out of his own imagination or even from gleanings from the work of others. Giving Castaneda credit for the Warrior's Way is like giving Walter Cronkite credit for men walking on the moon. Castaneda was a participant/reporter, not an originator. The big problem that Western academia/journalism has with the Warriors Way is that it puts their knowledge quite in the shade. It makes their knowledge irrelevant, outdated and primitive. The Warriors Way threatens the established social and economic orders of all societies. And that is why that don Juan has to remain a myth, a fiction. The alternative is unthinkable for those so heavily

invested, psychologically and financially, in the present social order. And for a system of knowledge as powerful and engulfing as the Warrior's Way to have been promulgated by a mere Indian such as don Juan is totally unacceptable to the legions of academics who assume that anyone who would dare to comment upon the basic nature of reality must have a PhD certificate hanging on the wall of their office. A similar cultural chauvinism has been visited upon Castaneda also. That a simple student of anthropology would be chosen to disseminate the Warrior's Way, and not one of the academic elite, is equally unacceptable. The opposition to the emergence of the Warriors Way will be vicious and violent. Those who advocate it will be attacked in any possible way that the detractors can find. A good example of this can be found in the writings of Richard de Mille (See Appendix V). His books are cited as an expose that debunks the Warriors Way by those who have obviously never read them (either de Milles or all of Castanedas). De Milles first book was so obviously filled with envy, jealousy and sarcasm that it was instantly rejected by the academics that de Mille wished to impress and convince, forcing him to write a second one. But it was no better, its one distinctive feature, a section called the Alleglossary, being the only part used by skeptics to attack Castanedas reportage. Even the authors portrait in the second book was used to express de Milles dismally sarcastic attitude. As for the Alleglossary, de Mille merely assigned ownership of every idiom in the English language to an author whose work was published before Castanedas books, and some to authors whose work was published after Castanedas. But de Milles curious silence after the publication of his second book is telling. He could obviously find no even remotely related precedent or forerunner to the totally unique concepts that Castaneda reported in his books from The Eagles Gift forward. One advantage that critics like de Mille have had in attacking Castanedas early books is that Castaneda himself was confused about the ultimate goal (reaching the Third Attention) of the Warriors Way and the precise technique (manipulation of the position of the assemblage point) used to reach that goal. It was only in the books from The Eagles Gift forward that Castaneda began to get a handle on the Warriors Way and report it a much more accurate and articulate manner. And since Castanedas death critics and journalists have become obsessed with the details of his sordid lifestyle, which enables them to brush the Warriors Way aside and indulge in sensationalist rhetoric like barkers on a circus midway. The power and truth of the words of don Juan endure untouched, unaffected. And will always remain so. Source Notes

1 Don Juan refused to fill out forms Castaneda, Journey To Ixtlan, Ch. 1, Pg. 25 and Ch. 2, Pg. 28. 2 Since it was Don Juans task to explain the Warriors Way to the outside world Castaneda, The Power Of Silence, Ch. 5, Pg. 206. 3 Don Juan was present at a small gathering Castaneda, A Separate Reality, Pt. 1,

Ch. 4, Pg. 76. 4 tyrannical, sexually obsessed control freak Wallace, Sorcerers Apprentice, Ch. 29, Pg. 242; Ch. 35, Pg. 295; Ch. 13, Pg. 110; Ch. 15, Pg. 133; Ch. 20, Pg. 175; Ch. 23, Pg. 197; Ch. 32, Pg. 267; Ch. 39, Pg. 327. 5 by far the biggest indulger Castaneda, The Power Of Silence, Ch. 3, Pg. 95. 6 rejected by the academics that De Mille wished to impress De Mille, The Castaneda Papers, Ch. 1, Pg. 12. 7 Even the authors portrait De Mille, The Castaneda Papers, Pg. 519. The illustrations caption refers to Looking and Seeing, a sarcastic reference to Seeing, a warriors alternate method of perceiving the world around him. 8 Castaneda himself was confused about the ultimate goal Castaneda, The Second Ring Of Power, Ch. 4, Pg. 212 and Ch. 6, Pg. 315. Castaneda, The Eagles Gift, Pt. 2, Ch. 8, Pg. 171. Bibliography Castaneda, Carlos. The Teachings of Don Juan : A Yaqui Way of Knowledge (30th Anniversary Edition). Los Angeles and Berkeley, California. The University of California Press, 1998. Castaneda, Carlos. A Separate Reality. New York : Simon And Schuster, 1971. Castaneda, Carlos. Journey to Ixtlan. New York : Simon And Schuster, 1972. Castaneda, Carlos. Tales of Power. New York : Simon And Schuster, 1974. Castaneda, Carlos. The Second Ring of Power. New York : Simon And Schuster, 1977. Castaneda, Carlos. The Eagles Gift. New York : Simon And Schuster, 1981. Castaneda, Carlos. The Fire From Within. New York : Simon And Schuster, 1984. Castaneda, Carlos. The Power of Silence. New York : Simon And Schuster, 1987. Castaneda, Carlos. The Art of Dreaming. New York : HarperCollins, 1993. Castaneda, Carlos. Magical Passes. New York : HarperCollins, 1998. Castaneda, Carlos. The Wheel of Time. Los Angeles : LA Eidolona Press, 1998. Castaneda, Carlos. The Active Side of Infinity. New York : HarperCollins, 1998. Castaneda, Carlos. A Journal of Applied Hermeneutics. Vol. 1, Nos. 1-4, 1996. De Mille, Richard. Castanedas Journey. Santa Barbara, California. Capra Press, 1976. (Paperback)(Identical to the 2001 revised version) De Mille, Richard. The Don Juan Papers. iUniverse.com, Inc., 2001. (Revised Edition) (Paperback) Wallace, Amy. Sorcerers Apprentice. Berkeley, California. Frog, Ltd., 2003.