What do you think?
Rate this book
The Life & Teachings of Carlos Castaneda (Paperback) - Common
The Life & Teachings of Carlos Castaneda demystifies what Castaneda sought to hide and delivers a detailed portrait of an enigmatic, driven seeker that passes beyond mere description to the very assemblage point of Carlos Castaneda. It is the first book published since Castaneda's death in 1998 to assess the meaning of his life both as a person and a Nagual, and, more importantly, to examine his ideas and their unrecognized primary source.Drawing on an original reading of texts and research, as well as his thirty years study and practice of esotericism, William Patrick Patterson uncovers the underlying threads that weave themselves like snakes through the fledgling Peruvian anthropologist's life, ones which led him to forsake his European intellectual membership for that of the dark world of sorcery and "break the human mold" to become a Nagual. Explored, too, are the questions of who don Juan really was and what actually happened with the jump into the abyss. The main ideas salted throughout Castaneda's ten major books are succinctly summarized and then compared idea-for-idea with those of an ancient, esoteric teaching to show how Castaneda disguised his source by giving the ideas a sorceric twist. Carlos Castaneda's books, particularly his early ones, showed a great narrative gift, often poetic, verging on the archetypal. His descriptions of his sorceric relationship with don Juan touched the hearts and minds of millions of readers. Patterson does justice to this and Castaneda's seriousness, intent and courage, but he also depicts Castaneda's descent in which he, the arch trickster, tricked himself into believing that the inner silence and attention of the Nagual had emptied him of his person.Self-blinded to his ambivalence toward women, fear of men and need for total power, Castaneda sought to control all aspects of his students lives, creating a rigid hierarchy, cultivating jealousies and secrecy and playing sexual power games, all in the name of breaking the human mold which would free them to travel to inorganic worlds. When Castaneda's death, the so-called trigger event, occurred, three of the four witches disappeared, the remains of one only recently found in Death Valley. The other two are assumed to have also committed suicide. There is much to be learned from the many aspects and phases of Castaneda's life that every sincere seeker could long ponder.Hardcover, chronology, notes, index, appendices.
- GenresMagick
270 pages, Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 2008
2 people are currently reading
97 people want to read
About the author
William Patrick Patterson
28 books14 followersWilliam Patrick Patterson is the founder/director of The Gurdjieff Studies Program, the author of seven books on The Fourth Way, and the director-writer-narrator of the award-winning documentary video trilogy—The Life and Significance of G.I. Gurdjieff. He is also the founder/editor of "The Gurdjieff Journal" (est. 1992), the first domestic and international Fourth Way journal. He has led groups for many years and annually gives four public seminars on G.I. Gurdjieff's teaching of The Fourth Way. He is the direct and longtime pupil of John Pentland, the remarkable man Mr. Gurdjieff chose to lead the Work in America.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 3, 2013
The Life & Teachings of Carlos Castaneda demystifies what Castaneda sought to hide and delivers a detailed portrait of an enigmatic, driven seeker that passes beyond mere description to the very assemblage point of Carlos Castaneda. It is the first book published since Castaneda's death in 1998 to assess the meaning of his life both as a person and a Nagual, and, more importantly, to examine his ideas and their unrecognized primary source.
Drawing on an original reading of texts and research, as well as his thirty years study and practice of esotericism, William Patrick Patterson uncovers the underlying threads that weave themselves like snakes through the fledgling Peruvian anthropologist's life, ones which led him to forsake his European intellectual membership for that of the dark world of sorcery and "break the human mold" to become a Nagual. Explored, too, are the questions of who don Juan really was and what actually happened with the jump into the abyss. The main ideas salted throughout Castaneda's ten major books are succinctly summarized and then compared idea-for-idea with those of an ancient, esoteric teaching to show how Castaneda disguised his source by giving the ideas a sorceric twist. Carlos Castaneda's books, particularly his early ones, showed a great narrative gift, often poetic, verging on the archetypal. His descriptions of his sorceric relationship with don Juan touched the hearts and minds of millions of readers. Patterson does justice to this and Castaneda's seriousness, intent and courage, but he also depicts Castaneda's descent in which he, the arch trickster, tricked himself into believing that the inner silence and attention of the Nagual had emptied him of his person.
Self-blinded to his ambivalence toward women, fear of men and need for total power, Castaneda sought to control all aspects of his students lives, creating a rigid hierarchy, cultivating jealousies and secrecy and playing sexual power games, all in the name of breaking the human mold which would free them to travel to inorganic worlds. When Castaneda's death, the so-called trigger event, occurred, three of the four witches disappeared, the remains of one only recently found in Death Valley. The other two are assumed to have also committed suicide. There is much to be learned from the many aspects and phases of Castaneda's life that every sincere seeker could long ponder.
Drawing on an original reading of texts and research, as well as his thirty years study and practice of esotericism, William Patrick Patterson uncovers the underlying threads that weave themselves like snakes through the fledgling Peruvian anthropologist's life, ones which led him to forsake his European intellectual membership for that of the dark world of sorcery and "break the human mold" to become a Nagual. Explored, too, are the questions of who don Juan really was and what actually happened with the jump into the abyss. The main ideas salted throughout Castaneda's ten major books are succinctly summarized and then compared idea-for-idea with those of an ancient, esoteric teaching to show how Castaneda disguised his source by giving the ideas a sorceric twist. Carlos Castaneda's books, particularly his early ones, showed a great narrative gift, often poetic, verging on the archetypal. His descriptions of his sorceric relationship with don Juan touched the hearts and minds of millions of readers. Patterson does justice to this and Castaneda's seriousness, intent and courage, but he also depicts Castaneda's descent in which he, the arch trickster, tricked himself into believing that the inner silence and attention of the Nagual had emptied him of his person.
Self-blinded to his ambivalence toward women, fear of men and need for total power, Castaneda sought to control all aspects of his students lives, creating a rigid hierarchy, cultivating jealousies and secrecy and playing sexual power games, all in the name of breaking the human mold which would free them to travel to inorganic worlds. When Castaneda's death, the so-called trigger event, occurred, three of the four witches disappeared, the remains of one only recently found in Death Valley. The other two are assumed to have also committed suicide. There is much to be learned from the many aspects and phases of Castaneda's life that every sincere seeker could long ponder.
January 11, 2009
The Life and Teachings of Carlos Castaneda by William Patrick Patterson is informative, intriguing, and it led me to further reading of the books in the extensive bibliography. William Patrick Patterson provides the links between the history of esotericism and Carlos Castaneda. The additional historical essay included in the book, gives the historical context of Don Juan's sorcery from the perspective of the Catholic Church.
After I read this book I researched further and found unmistakable parallels of Gurdjieff's words in Carlos Castaneda's works. For example: See the chapter titled "The Measurements of Cognition", page 119, in The Active Side of Infinity, and then the last page, page 1183, of All And Everything. Both books talk about complete, embodied awareness of our personal impending deaths as the source of our salvation. Castenada had introduced the idea of "Death as an advisor" in Journey to Ixtlan, but I hadn't made the connection to earlier teachings until I read William Patrick Patterson's new book.
After I read this book I researched further and found unmistakable parallels of Gurdjieff's words in Carlos Castaneda's works. For example: See the chapter titled "The Measurements of Cognition", page 119, in The Active Side of Infinity, and then the last page, page 1183, of All And Everything. Both books talk about complete, embodied awareness of our personal impending deaths as the source of our salvation. Castenada had introduced the idea of "Death as an advisor" in Journey to Ixtlan, but I hadn't made the connection to earlier teachings until I read William Patrick Patterson's new book.
August 15, 2017
If you have any interest in the identity of actual identity of Carlos Castaneda and his sorcerer pal Don Juan you may find this book interesting. A good deal is revealed about Carlos' origins and influences and some interesting speculation about the identity of Don Juan nothing conclusive is revealed.
Although I'm not one to reread a book I thought maybe the time had come to revisit "The Teachings of Don Juan" to see if it had the same mysterious impact on me it did years ago. Patterson's book cured me of the interest to read further. Like many others would be gurus' Castaneda comes across as a self serving, insecure, even abusive type who mashed together a blend of drugs and pre-new age mystical BS built around the Fourth Way route to higher consciousness
thinking of G.I. Gurdjieff to address his own selfish needs.
Although I'm not one to reread a book I thought maybe the time had come to revisit "The Teachings of Don Juan" to see if it had the same mysterious impact on me it did years ago. Patterson's book cured me of the interest to read further. Like many others would be gurus' Castaneda comes across as a self serving, insecure, even abusive type who mashed together a blend of drugs and pre-new age mystical BS built around the Fourth Way route to higher consciousness
thinking of G.I. Gurdjieff to address his own selfish needs.
May 19, 2021
I wrote a new Carlos Castaneda review with the name "The Science of Seers". It has a different perspective comparing Modern Science and the wisdom of the Shamans of Ancient Mexico and also the religion while touching all the main existential questions of human beings. And for me, it puts the writings of Castaneda to the right place as it has never done before. If you could take a look and read it I will be pleased.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...
March 30, 2015
If you´re a fan of Castaneda, want to know more about him, but don´t mind being disillusioned about the level of his character and spiritual development, this is the book for you!
I was sorry to learn about these negative aspects of Castaneda´s personality, but then it saves me from having to read further books about or by him, though I may do, nonetheless.
The author tells us about the sources of Castaneda´s teachings, including the similarity of his teachings with those of Gurdjieff, recounts the events of his life and provides information about his “witches”. We are given definitions of the basic terms used in his books, and a summary of his intrinsic ideas/beliefs.
The universe is composed not only of energy but will, intent. “The ´human mould´ is the conditional matrix of self-belief in which all humanity is born, lives and dies, except for the few who have the power to break the mould.” To do so one must be able to “stop the world”, that is, to stop the internal dialogue “so that the ´world´ one is always telling oneself about stops”. “One strives to be impeccable, that is, to give full attention to whatever and whomever we are engaged with.”
To stop the world, there must be intent, and the “purposeful guiding of will”. In stopping the world “one comes to the totality of oneself and experiences inner silence”. Inner silence is the stand from which everything stems in sorcery.
As regards Don Juan, we are not really enlightened as to whether he actually existed. Margaret Runyon, one of C´s wives, claimed that there was a real Don Juan, but that the Don Juan of his books “became a different creature --- made up of equal parts real Indian, pure Castaneda imagination, library research”, etc. etc.
Castaneda was a short, dark man with black curly hair who could “charm your soul”. He was a “curandero, a shaman, a magician”. One person said that he was a “big liar and a real friend”.
He was a tyrant in his relationships with the “witches”. He had an obsession with body odour, so the “witches” had to be “well-bathed” and to use identical bath products. All body hair had to be removed and pubic hair shaved in prescribed ways. He hated body fat so the women did hours of daily exercise. All their jewelry was to be given to him, and their best clothing were to be shredded – to destroy their self-importance. Words like “love”, “friendship”, “family” and “need” were forbidden.
Though C proclaimed his celibacy at seminars, he was a sexaholic. He “was intent on bedding every woman he met”. However, his female students were not allowed to have sex with anyone but him. The men were to live entirely celibate lives. When he grew tired of having sex with any of the women, he insisted that they be celibate but also pimp for him.
He constantly demanded attention and drove Florinda, one of the witches, “crazy with his neediness” (though neediness was forbidden in his teachings).
His lover, Amy Wallace, said:
“Carlos had begun as a genuine seeker – but ended as a tyrant watching over a cult of terrified followers”. Spirits were crushed, people were humiliated publicly. There were malevolence, breakdowns, illness and anguish,
I was disappointed that C was thus in no way spiritually developed, and neither were the “witches” and other students, otherwise they would not have accepted C´s tyranny.
C developed glaucoma, diabetes and liver cancer. He did not use his knowledge to heal himself, but underwent conventional medical treatments.
According to C., the death of the average human being is a termination of their awareness, while with sorcerers awareness remains.
His so-called “path of heart” had nothing to do with compassion, but only courage, fearlessness and resoluteness.
When C died, two of the “witches” disappeared, as did two others from his company; they had planned to commit suicide when he died, and it looked as though they did. The Nagual woman, Carol Tiggs, remained alive, but then again, she was the “Death defier”.
To sum up, I found the book to be well-written, informative, detailed about C´s sources, beliefs, relationships and life as a whole. It just didn´t provide information I wanted to hear, ha, ha! But it is a useful contribution to the understanding of the mythical and near-archetypal person, Carlos Castaneda. Read it, if you don´t mind being disillusioned.
I was sorry to learn about these negative aspects of Castaneda´s personality, but then it saves me from having to read further books about or by him, though I may do, nonetheless.
The author tells us about the sources of Castaneda´s teachings, including the similarity of his teachings with those of Gurdjieff, recounts the events of his life and provides information about his “witches”. We are given definitions of the basic terms used in his books, and a summary of his intrinsic ideas/beliefs.
The universe is composed not only of energy but will, intent. “The ´human mould´ is the conditional matrix of self-belief in which all humanity is born, lives and dies, except for the few who have the power to break the mould.” To do so one must be able to “stop the world”, that is, to stop the internal dialogue “so that the ´world´ one is always telling oneself about stops”. “One strives to be impeccable, that is, to give full attention to whatever and whomever we are engaged with.”
To stop the world, there must be intent, and the “purposeful guiding of will”. In stopping the world “one comes to the totality of oneself and experiences inner silence”. Inner silence is the stand from which everything stems in sorcery.
As regards Don Juan, we are not really enlightened as to whether he actually existed. Margaret Runyon, one of C´s wives, claimed that there was a real Don Juan, but that the Don Juan of his books “became a different creature --- made up of equal parts real Indian, pure Castaneda imagination, library research”, etc. etc.
Castaneda was a short, dark man with black curly hair who could “charm your soul”. He was a “curandero, a shaman, a magician”. One person said that he was a “big liar and a real friend”.
He was a tyrant in his relationships with the “witches”. He had an obsession with body odour, so the “witches” had to be “well-bathed” and to use identical bath products. All body hair had to be removed and pubic hair shaved in prescribed ways. He hated body fat so the women did hours of daily exercise. All their jewelry was to be given to him, and their best clothing were to be shredded – to destroy their self-importance. Words like “love”, “friendship”, “family” and “need” were forbidden.
Though C proclaimed his celibacy at seminars, he was a sexaholic. He “was intent on bedding every woman he met”. However, his female students were not allowed to have sex with anyone but him. The men were to live entirely celibate lives. When he grew tired of having sex with any of the women, he insisted that they be celibate but also pimp for him.
He constantly demanded attention and drove Florinda, one of the witches, “crazy with his neediness” (though neediness was forbidden in his teachings).
His lover, Amy Wallace, said:
“Carlos had begun as a genuine seeker – but ended as a tyrant watching over a cult of terrified followers”. Spirits were crushed, people were humiliated publicly. There were malevolence, breakdowns, illness and anguish,
I was disappointed that C was thus in no way spiritually developed, and neither were the “witches” and other students, otherwise they would not have accepted C´s tyranny.
C developed glaucoma, diabetes and liver cancer. He did not use his knowledge to heal himself, but underwent conventional medical treatments.
According to C., the death of the average human being is a termination of their awareness, while with sorcerers awareness remains.
His so-called “path of heart” had nothing to do with compassion, but only courage, fearlessness and resoluteness.
When C died, two of the “witches” disappeared, as did two others from his company; they had planned to commit suicide when he died, and it looked as though they did. The Nagual woman, Carol Tiggs, remained alive, but then again, she was the “Death defier”.
To sum up, I found the book to be well-written, informative, detailed about C´s sources, beliefs, relationships and life as a whole. It just didn´t provide information I wanted to hear, ha, ha! But it is a useful contribution to the understanding of the mythical and near-archetypal person, Carlos Castaneda. Read it, if you don´t mind being disillusioned.
March 25, 2012
Dipped into this at the bookstore (new age). Fascinating! Must read all of it ASAP. Apparently there was a measurable amount of influence on Castaneda from the Fourth Way/Gurdjieff Work, which is not surprising, and also a great deal of influence on him from Anais Nin personally and from her Diaries, which is extremely intriguing. I am a big fan of Nin and have studied both Castaneda and Fourth Way material, so this is right up my alley.
Shouldn't have bought it. I gained very little more information from reading the whole book than I did by dipping into it. :(
Shouldn't have bought it. I gained very little more information from reading the whole book than I did by dipping into it. :(
December 5, 2023
I’ve read Patterson before and find him to be an unreliable narrator with a proclivity for character assassination. His treatment of Castaneda himself comes across as fair, but his portrayal of others with whom I’m more familiar is not. Some interesting anecdotes and insights as well as good writing nonetheless.
Left me on the lookout for a more definitive treatment/commentary on the Castaneda phenomenon.
Left me on the lookout for a more definitive treatment/commentary on the Castaneda phenomenon.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews