I was first introduced to Carlos Castaneda when there was just one Castaneda book: The Teachings of Don Juan. It was the fall of 1968. That book was assigned reading for an English class I was taking.
Fortunately for me, I was interested in Castaneda's books for what I considered their good advice and the glimpse they gave into human possibility with no judgement on my part regarding their truthfulness.
In the fourth book, Tales of Power, Carlos Castaneda reported don Juan as saying that a man of knowledge did NOT believe but rather had to believe and that that meant believing according to one's innermost predilection. That was to say, knowing full well that what one had chosen to believe might well NOT be true but that one chose to believe (had to believe) as that choice matched their spirit (my phrasing).
The skeptics of Castaneda soon came along with one of them becoming quite well known for his book purportedly exposing him as a fraud (I don't think the author quite put it so bluntly but he might as well have if he actually didn't). I find it unfortunate, not for myself or for others but for that author, that he could not see the forest for the trees.
To those who know little of Castaneda's books but have found this site, please know that there is NOTHING to believe with Carlos Castaneda's books. ALL of it is for you to verify through your own experience and you CAN verify it. Read what the skeptics say if you wish but don't be stopped by them. That would be a mistake.
If you are new to Carlos Castaneda and this compilation I welcome you! It is entirely up to each of us to utilize what Carlos Castaneda presents.
I like what Yoda said in The Empire Strikes Back, "Do. Or do not. There is no try."
After reading the third book by Carlos Castaneda, Journey to Ixtlan, I began setting myself the task each night of looking for my hands in my dreams. It was three years later that I had my first volitional dream, or, as most would call it, lucid dream. I thought that if that part of the Carlos Castaneda books was true as my own experience then knew it to be, that perhaps more if not all of the possibilities Carlos Castaneda explained were also a part of human potential.
Back to the skeptics: I say that it is unfortunate for them that they have chosen to not take what Carlos Castaneda has reported as true or possible because by taking that point of view they have no impetus for even trying to follow don Juan's teachings. And to add to that point: There is nothing to do, per se, that is offensive in following the teachings Carlos Castaneda presents, but rather ALL to be gained.
But back to my compiling Carlos Castaneda's books into what became this website: I decided to record Carlos Castaneda's books so that I could listen to them while at work. I actually read all of them onto cassette tapes but soon grew tired of listening to the story part in each one so began the task of marking in pencil the parts that I wanted to hear. Given the nature of the text, however, I found that I had to rewrite many parts to make it flow. As an example, this passage from Tales of Power where Carlos Castaneda had told don Juan of his having taken his cats to be put to sleep and of how one of them, Max, had apparently sensed that all was not well and jumped out of the car and ran away when he had the chance. Following this passage in blue is my compiled version in purple.
"What I've been trying to tell you
is that as a warrior you cannot just believe this and let it go at that. With Max, having to believe means that you accept the fact that his escape might have been a useless outburst. He might have jumped into the sewer and died instantly. He might have drowned or starved to death, or he might have been eaten by rats. A warrior considers all those possibilities and then chooses to believe in accordance with his innermost predilection.
"As a warrior you have to believe that Max made it, that he not only escaped but that he sustained his power. You have to believe it. Let's say that without that belief you have nothing."
The distinction became very clear. I thought I really had chosen to believe that Max had survived, knowing that he was handicapped by a lifetime of soft and pampered living.
"Believing is a cinch," don Juan went on. "Having to believe is something else. In this case, for instance, power gave you a splendid lesson, but you chose to use only part of it. If you have to believe, however, you must use all the event."
"I see what you mean," I said.
My mind was in a state of clarity and I thought I was grasping his concepts with no effort at all.
"I'm afraid you still don't understand," he said, almost whispering.
He stared at me. I held his look for a moment.
"What about the other cat?" he asked.
"Uh? The other cat?" I repeated involuntarily.
I had forgotten about it. My symbol had rotated around Max. The other cat was of no consequence to me.
"But he is!" don Juan exclaimed when I voiced my thoughts. ''Having to believe means that you have to also account for the other cat. The one that went playfully licking the hands that were carrying him to his doom. That was the cat that went to his death trustingly, filled with his cat's judgments.
"You think you're like Max, therefore you have forgotten about the other cat. You don't even know his name. Having to believe means that you must consider everything, and before deciding that you are like Max you must consider that you may be like the other cat; instead of running for your life and taking your chances, you may be going to your doom happily, filled with your judgments."
And my compiling of that Carlos Castaneda passage, which, reading the original again now after over 20 years, I see that I didn't really capture the whole power of the original passage -- a good reason for you to read the actual Castaneda books and not just this compilation. In my defense, however, I will tell you that this is one of only about three places where I sort of gave my own interpretation. The vast majority is very very accurately compiled to match the teachings presented in Carlos Castaneda's books:
Having to believe means that you accept the facts of something, consider all possibilities and possible outcomes, and then choose to believe in accordance with your innermost predilection.
Believing is a cinch. Having to believe is something else. If you have to believe, you must use all of an event, account for all possibilities, and consider everything. Before deciding that you believe one way you must consider that it may well be another way.
After a few years, I'd marked the Carlos Castaneda books as I wanted and then typed what I'd marked into my computer. That was around 1992. I then printed and proofread it about, literally, 18 times to get it right. Then I read it onto 45-minute cassette tapes (thus the length of the audio parts here).
So that's the basic history of how this Carlos Castaneda compilation came to be and I trust that you will find it of value.
As Carlos Castaneda has said, how far each of us goes on the path of knowledge is up to us and our level of impeccability. I encourage you to find and listen to Carlos Castaneda's interview with Theodor Roszak in 1969 where he explains in his own words his motive for writing about his experiences, which, again, I personally, have to believe are true.
Carlos Castaneda is quoted by Armando Torres in his book, Encounters with the Nagual, as having said, "I don't promise you anything. I am not a guru. Freedom is an individual choice, and each one of us must assume the responsibility of fighting for it."
May this compilation support you in your own fight for freedom.
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