MesoAmericas & Beyond

The section of the main site MesoAmericas.com for the people of the ancient cultures has been started. Here is the first paragraph:

Olmec Mother Culture

The earliest known civilization in Mesoamerica is the Olmec. It appears they are the genesis of most of the aspects of the Mesoamerican cultures. The form of their government, pyramid-temple building, writing, astronomy, art, mathematics, economics and religion became the template for succeeding cultures. The questions of where the Olmec received their inspiration and knowledge, not to mention the required force, to create the Mesoamerican culture is rarely examined deeply.

More to come…

I had read a number of Carlos books a long time ago and my interest was captivated by Carlos finding a teacher and a path to self knowledge. I felt as if I was on the journey with him, a true journey. Yet, his books became a bit strange around the 4th or 5th one and interest was lost after that.

Carlo’s life, what he learned from don Juan, what was taken from Gurdjieff’s Fourth Way—rephrased to hide its origin, his strengths and weaknesses are all explored in The Life & Teachings of Carlos Castaneda.

Of particular interest was the chapter Ideas & Sources. Carlos appears to have definitely learned something from don Juan but he used many of the ideas from The Fourth Way and expressing them in sorceric terms. Unfortunately sometimes Carlos expressed those ideas in personal terms.

Even though Carlos broke the human mold it appears there were many things or something he still did not understand or was not aware of about himself. In The Summing Up it speaks of his guilt, the guilt of his killing someone or something he judged as equivalent. It appears to me he really didn’t travel the full path of heart as he spoke of, or only up to a certain point, but was diverted by the guilt and judgment he could not absorb.

The book is well worth reading, especially anyone who has heard of Carlos or read some of Carlos’ books. It sheds light on a lot of what I did not understand about Carlos Castaneda when I first read his books and even for years after.

What mystery was evoked,
Seeing hieroglyphs for the first time,
With no comprehension of the mind,
To resurface at a later time,
What does this riddle represent to me?
Maybe unraveling it, unravels something in me.

There is a talk on The Life & Teachings of Carlos Castaneda this coming Wednesday February 20th, in Sacramento at East West Books. Starts at 7:00 PM. Also, in San Rafael the following evening Thursday, February 21st, at the Open Secret Bookstore starting at 7:30 PM. Both look to be great talks on the influence of Castaneda, past and present, don Juan’s identity, the meaning of Castaneda’s “jump into the abyss,” the life of the Nagual and his witches, and the primary source of Castaneda’s ideas—Gurdjieff’s Fourth Way. They both include guided meditation and Conscious Body/Breath Impressions. It is sponsored by Gurdjieff Legacy.

An interesting book has just been released and published. It is about Carlos Castaneda’s life and teachings. I had read a number of his books a long time ago and while the first few books were very interesting and inspiring because they were about sorceric Knowledge in Mexico, but it started to become a bit strange around the 4th or 5th book. That is where I stopped reading them. I look forward to reading this book soon and writing my thoughts about it.

The book is located at this site Gurdjieff Legacy Bookstore

Hello, through this blog I am exploring my interests, thoughts and feelings. If others find them interesting then please comment.