tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3179069863789416483.post2805000764592248064..comments2023-07-19T07:49:53.361-07:00Comments on a few years in the Absolute Elsewhere: the owls are not what they seem, addendum 1: Carlos Castaneda and the Entities of the Night.Tristan Eldritchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10239386613395519115noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3179069863789416483.post-26367208913483702302012-11-03T09:02:23.743-07:002012-11-03T09:02:23.743-07:00It's like in V for Vendetta: a true writer wil...It's like in V for Vendetta: a true writer will use lies to tell the truth :)Red Pill Junkiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14738203580562140501noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3179069863789416483.post-74606461794976098252012-11-03T05:56:21.557-07:002012-11-03T05:56:21.557-07:00I've been meaning to read some of Gary Lachman...I've been meaning to read some of Gary Lachman's books for quite awhile; he always writes about stuff that is very interesting to me.<br /><br />The fiction/non/fiction divide can be a little nebulous to me at times anyway. A great many fiction writers, often the better ones, write fiction because they find it the most accurate way to reflect reality as they experience it. In this sense, a work of fiction may be no less real a representation of reality than a mathematical equation. Although I remain alert to when my leg is being pulled, I read to stimulate my imagination, and this will always be my final criteria for whatever type of book I'm reading.Tristan Eldritchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10239386613395519115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3179069863789416483.post-35799662464667747842012-11-02T09:16:45.114-07:002012-11-02T09:16:45.114-07:00Indeed. As I was reading Gary Lachman's excerp...Indeed. As I was reading Gary Lachman's excerpt from his book on <a href="http://dailygrail.com/blogs/Gary-Lachman/2012/10/excerpt-Madame-Blavatsky-The-Mother-Modern-Spirituality" rel="nofollow">Madame Blavatsky</a>, it would seem that she too came to fulfill the same role as Castañeda during those first decades of the XXth century --the role of Tricksterish guru ;)<br /><br />Consequently, the reactions to her as are mixed as with Carlos: some still swear by their teachings, some think they were complete opportunists and charlatans, and there are even some, like you and I, who think that such debates are pointless; for there's still a lot of valuable things to learn of them both :)Red Pill Junkiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14738203580562140501noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3179069863789416483.post-43244226921330181142012-11-02T05:33:31.821-07:002012-11-02T05:33:31.821-07:00Thanks Red Pill! Yes, some tellings avow that don...Thanks Red Pill! Yes, some tellings avow that don Juan died in 73, so you may be the reincarnation of a very wise man...who may only ever have existed in the imagination of another wise man! (73/74 was a bumper time for weirdness in general, with RAW beginning to receive the Sirius transmissions, and Philip K Dick getting zapped by VALIS in 74, as I'm sure you're aware.)<br /><br />Although its impossible to say for sure, I tend to think to much, if not all, of Castaneda was fictional per se; but the more I read of him, the more I become convinced that he was a really remarkable, unique writer. You mention Lovecraft in your piece, and I think that is an apt comparison; as the owl episode above illustrates, Castaneda was, among other things, one of America's great practitioner of weird fiction. <br /><br /> Tristan Eldritchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10239386613395519115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3179069863789416483.post-12169281147796501652012-11-01T20:13:17.770-07:002012-11-01T20:13:17.770-07:00Fantastic essay, Tristan. I had completely forgot ...Fantastic essay, Tristan. I had completely forgot about that part of the book.<br /><br />So Don Juan either died or departed this world in 1973, huh? Having being born in that year, I dig that a lot ;)<br /><br />You might find this interesting as well:<br /><br />http://www.intrepidmag.com/blog/the-teachings-of-don-morpheus-part-1/Red Pill Junkiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14738203580562140501noreply@blogger.com