Letters to the Editor
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Godfather? From "Time".
I am a professional storyteller and folklorist. I came of age in the 60's and was deeply influenced by Castaneda's writings. Two points.
1) I once attended a regional storytelling conference in which the keynote speaker's talk was "storytelling from the transcendent realm." The point? A story does not have to be "factual" to be powerful or carry truths. Case in point. The last verses of the book of Mark, now acknowledged by scholars to have been added for theological purposes. Look at the power they have carried for centuries.
Initially I believed Don Juan was real. The gripping force of Castaneda's narrative, combined with a tapping into a Jungian sense of mystical archetype had an amazing hold. "Tales of Power" is a great book, one that was transformative on many levels. The leap at the end, for example, carried with it a core truth of the nature of surrender. "Having to Believe" is echoed in many of the inner teachings of "The Course in MIracles". It was only when I read "The Eagle's Gift" and the sequel, did I realize it wasn't real, that the author had gone too far and spent his vision. Did that detract from the impact and fascination this author brought into my life? Where is the line between an artist's public contribution and his or her private demons? There is much to raise concern, for example, in the behavior of Trungpa Rimpoche, but there is little doubt that "Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism" is a work of brilliance. So in this sense I benefited from him, because he was part of a wave of energy and consciousness that emerged at the time and is still moving strongly in society.
2) Because "Time" conferred this title (Godfather of the New Age) on him, is this really true? This type of thinking betrays an ignorance of how historical movements arise. I applaud Mr. Marshall's research and what he is adding to our comprehension of this secretive man and his times. But I am increasingly concerned with Salon's overly materialistic approach to mystical subjects. At the time of Castaneda one was overwhelmed with information and energy, from Watts, to Hesse, to Yogananda to the Beatles. The issue of consciousness was everywhere. To ascribe the "birthing" of that energy to one person is ludicrous.
One could argue that people might be easy prey for a con artist. True enough. There are many in all forms. Richard Dawkins in his "religion" of atheism can be seen as pernicious in his ignorance in the inability to differentiate religion from spirituality. And as one who has studied the development of Christianity extensively from an alternative lens and personal history, I would argue that the Atonement Theology and deification of Jesus that is at the core of the religion is perhaps the greatest and most misguided perception of Divinity ever perpetrated on humanity. Built by authors who were knowingly and self consciously mythmakers.
A fine piece of investigative journalism. None of the above excuses Castaneda's excesses. Marred, however,by some fundamental misconceptions and assumptions about the time and the nature of story.