05-31-2025, 07:12 AM
It's been nearly fifty years since I read Castenada's books, and now looking back, those books had quite the impact at the time.
And yes, I quite agree the work involves a huge amount of self-discipline. The stories of Buddhists and the yogi spending all their lives trying to attain a state of thoughtlessness is there too. If there was a turning point for me, it was the decision to walk away from book-learning and experience everything firsthand. One day I gave away my extensive esoteric library. The next twenty years were a lot of work with no clear plan.
Sorcery, as Castenada called it, aside, knowing how dreams work gives insights into how ideologies work too. That can give us a certain freedom, a sense of detachment if you will.
I think so too, and a lot safer. From memory, Castenada had a peculiarity in his energy body that caught Don Juan's attention, and why he decided to teach the "American idiot" at his door. The peculiarity was apparently needed to compliment the group of seers. So in a way Castenada didn't have much choice in the matter.
That reminds me of the idea of wiring the human mind to computers. I guess that might be a way for scientists to sit out of harm's way and watch a computer screen, leaving other people to take the risks. Still, it would be neat to take technology to the level where we can see into other realms. That in itself would change the world. Dunno if for the better though.
"Blank wall meditation" - I'm not familiar with the term. What is it about?
And yes, I quite agree the work involves a huge amount of self-discipline. The stories of Buddhists and the yogi spending all their lives trying to attain a state of thoughtlessness is there too. If there was a turning point for me, it was the decision to walk away from book-learning and experience everything firsthand. One day I gave away my extensive esoteric library. The next twenty years were a lot of work with no clear plan.
Sorcery, as Castenada called it, aside, knowing how dreams work gives insights into how ideologies work too. That can give us a certain freedom, a sense of detachment if you will.
Quote:Even within their own culture these shaman are a bit of an acquired taste. The rigor of the method probably screens out people that aren't a little bit odd to begin with.
I think so too, and a lot safer. From memory, Castenada had a peculiarity in his energy body that caught Don Juan's attention, and why he decided to teach the "American idiot" at his door. The peculiarity was apparently needed to compliment the group of seers. So in a way Castenada didn't have much choice in the matter.
Quote:As far as I know the Ganzfeld experiments used a red static field, but I don't know how widely they experimented with other colors. I think the key triggers are the static field and the rods. Red is the best color light for preserving night vision. I think it would make sense that a totally static field in zero light conditions would maximize the exposure of the rods and intensify the Ganzfeld effect. It would make sense that if there is something that exists on the fringes of human visual perception, that a good way to see it would be with the eye's aperture wide open while starved of all other input. It's also a blank wall meditation, in essence, so not totally removed from transcendental meditation.
That reminds me of the idea of wiring the human mind to computers. I guess that might be a way for scientists to sit out of harm's way and watch a computer screen, leaving other people to take the risks. Still, it would be neat to take technology to the level where we can see into other realms. That in itself would change the world. Dunno if for the better though.
"Blank wall meditation" - I'm not familiar with the term. What is it about?
--------------------------------------------
"Being well adjusted to a sick society is not an indication of health." ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti.
"Being well adjusted to a sick society is not an indication of health." ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti.