Letters to the Editor
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Astonishing....
Hard to believe that decades after this guy was revealed to be a complete fraud there are still people writing letters here defending his "Search for the truth," declaring "Prove to me that nothing exists" - as if this is somehow a declaration of anything other than their own irrationality - or passing this off as "a thoughtful journey to be taken with a glass of wine."
When a con man is revealed, it isn't an attack on anyone's spriituality. Nor is it a declaration that "nothing exists" or an attempt to ruin anyone's thoughtful journey. It is an attempt to prevent others from making the tragic mistake of following a con man down the road to ruin. The fact that anyone would feel threatened by this reveals more about their inability to accept the reality of their own foolishness than it does anything else.
The thing about con men like this guy is that they prove that Goebbels' theory of "the big lie" was, if anything, understated. Because if you say something enough times, not only will others believe it, but you will too. And so David Koresh began to believe that he was the Lamb of God and Castaneda probably began to believe his own raft of shit. Having converted themselves, their dogma becomes much more dangerous, since their devoted followers sense their dedication and become willing to do literally anything to make certain that they will receive their final reward.
This is how compounds end up in flames, people end up in nike sneakers on a bed or lying dead and decaying in the desert. So please spare me the self-indugent ramblings of ex-hippies who don't like to see one their heros de-mystified. The man was a fraud and (directly or indirectly) responsible for the death of others. Deal with it and get on with your life.