The Eye of the Dragon, Stalking Castaneda

Well, Rio, I just love this book. You write beautifully, and I was soon at the end of chapter 3. I would certainly buy this book; I identify with much of your spiritual journey and lapped up every word. You are a true storyteller. If it gets into print please let me know as I want a copy. Backed immediately and with pleasure. Nicky.

Here is this author’s realization:

It “made me realize how blind human beings can be; and how ready we are to miss a point and become either judges or victims.”

And part of his purpose in writing this book:

“I am writing these notes with a double purpose: to help me get a better perspective and a new direction, and to maybe help a few others do the same.”

Here is an example from the polemic:

“I read about a six-year-old boy who died after breaking his neck under an extremely heavy load, too heavy for the child to carry. The article also said that he had been a slave all his life.... Should I ever feel sorry for myself? But actually, a more pertinent question would be, should I ever be sorry for that little boy? For just like that little boy I am going to die, and although longer, my life might well end up being much more miserable than his was. For only by reducing my self-importance to the lowest can I claim to be different from his captors and murderers; there is such a thing as a collective responsibility, a social contract. We all endorse a social contract that thrives in egomania, an egomania that causes the suffering of humanity by refusing to see the Whole.”

This then is going to be a thinking man’s book.

But there are more personal examples to make this book more immediate:

“I was sure that the vision would soon vanish due to my inability to hold it, as was usually the case. But to my surprise the scene stayed.... As soon the realization struck me, I felt myself being pulled into the vision. ‘I’ (or my ‘dreaming body’) was no longer in my bed or in my physical body, but in the covered back of a two-and-a-half ton truck.... It was obvious that I was not in the United States. I was nowhere that I could recognize. I meandered down the dirt road trying to figure out where I was. It seemed hot, maybe tropical.... "Where am I?"”

And no doubting the effect it had on the author:

“The "dreaming" experience mentioned before was indeed a new development for me, and it opened doors that I didn’t know existed.”

Or the consequences which most people might find scary and way out of the comfort zone:

“So I decided, as a first step, to drop my personal history.
I didn’t change my name nor did anything drastic. I just started erasing my personal history by not reinforcing it anymore and by changing my surroundings. Nobody knows who I am with certainty anymore, not even myself.”

But this is also a travelogue and as such we are bound to meet a variety of people along the way:

“We were a motley crew, we were. Wally was the elder, the captain, the owner of the boat, the man with the grizzled beard and scarce but long hair who was also a college professor. Tony was the second in command; he could fix just about anything; he was a seasoned merchant marine resting between ships. Caroline was also an experienced sailor and maybe the best amongst us. She was from England, and was sailing her way around the world to meet her boyfriend somewhere. I remember also Cathy and Keith who were Wally's teenage offspring, and Arthur was also there with Lonna, his Hawaiian girlfriend. And there was of course me, the inexperienced beginner, still traveling with a suitcase, ties and suits, just in case.”

But always with this personal “journey” in mind:

“In those days I related to my "dreaming body" as if it was my physical body, so I ‘walked’ or try to open doors as if my "dreaming body" had matter.... And I was excited but also chagrined; I had missed the opportunity to look at myself sleeping. One of the main goals of dreaming is to establish that you are actually in two places at once. Then, with lots of practice, the dreaming body can intend a physical body that can actually act in our daily world. The two locations can be equally real and either of them can be maintained and the other discarded.”

This I suspect is going to take a lot of swallowing, certainly to those of us brought up in the western tradition; but of course that makes it all the more interesting. I certainly have not come across anything quite like this on this site.

But there is also enough of the Bruce Chatwin here to engage the general reader:

“Nevertheless, it was in South America, while visiting my sister, that I really took a course of action.... I was down to my last dollars, so after saying (and writing) good-bye to everyone, I accepted two hundred dollars from my sister and let the road swallow me. I literally disappeared. For the next fifteen years nobody heard from me; nobody knew my whereabouts. The omens on the road would decide my fate.... I flew to the island of San Andres and then to Honduras in Central America. Taking this detour I bypassed another war in Nicaragua,...”

With detailed descriptions of what was encountered:

“The man I worked for next was in need of a harrowing experience himself. Jose had a small lumberyard, and he was planning to pay me two quetzals a day ($2.00), which was not going to be enough to feed myself. Therefore, thinking I was being ingenious, I decided to ask him if I could work for room and board. Jose agreed to let me sleep in the lumber shed. And for two days the family had their morbid fun watching me eat their serving: a watery soup with no aroma, flavor or substance, with meatless bones and a few beans in it accompanied by a couple of scrawny, old tortillas. They didn't eat with me; they just watched me eat with a sardonic look on their face. I couldn't understand their ill-will.... But the two young Mayan Indians who worked with me weren’t faring much better. They were treated like beasts of burden and given heavy loads of lumber to be carried over great distances...”

A decidedly different book in all respects. Shelved for its originality and interest.

Rio
I was immediately drawn to this because I have read all of Casteneda’s books and have practiced some of his techniques. I too was a little hurt by the defamation of the man and gave up the argument with this conclusion: even if Carlos invented his apprenticeship and relationship with Don Juan, he still gets my unreserved respect – that is an amazing feat! I could never invent such a powerful and inspiring story.
However, you have now stirred this old memory and after reading your first three chapters, I have shelved this for your excellent writing and your cause. This is one of the small minority of books on the site that I will read in its entirety.
Thank you and best wishes with this.
David
Green Ore

Rio,
First, this is fascinating, and it's well written. Nevertheless, I'm not so sure an adequate review can be made of this work without reading the entire manuscript. After all, for you, this is the culmination of research and experimentation going back to your first reading of Castaneda's Journey to Ixtlan in the 1960s. But already, in these first few chapters, I can see the makings of an excellent book.

Here's one indication. You start off by describing the very realistic vision you had in Fullerton, California, in which you were transported to Morocco. You even describe freshly mowed grass. For me, that's a tidbit that wouldn't be there if this were not very real, or at least real to you. I wouldn't begin to judge the truth in this book without first, as I said, reading all of it, and second, having experienced what you experienced. But I do know this: You have a gift for telling this story, and I am very pleased to back it.
Mark

Recommended audio while reading The Eye Of The Dragon:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NsJ84YV1oA

All the best - and looking forward to more being posted.

Lisa (Death And The City)

Hi S., Your style brought me in and it has a warmth towards its reader. I really liked how you wove meditation sages and Christianity into Casteneda’s ideas. Casteneda is an memorable read and here he stands with prevalent disciplines. The dream of the narrator and the Moroccan site on the internet was fascinating. Happy to shelve – Katherine (The Swan Bonnet)

Rio, I read CC in the '80s, when I was travelling through Latin America. as your tale unwinds, you capture the essence of his teachings. he didn't exactly capture me, but what the hell. i was unable to accept any credo then.
i have no quibbles about your tale. on my shelf.
clean writing, with verve and polish.
bst wishes, andy
- ps, i'm curious as to your take on crier of kathmandu; appreciate even a short look when youy have time.

S: both pitches need to be written; let me know and I'll come back to check it out. I also do apologize for the lack of a proper comment but I am leaving for the weekend and it's late here. Let me know if you want a proper comment upon my return and I will read more as soon as I have a chance. For now, enjoy the BACKING. I can use your comment on my book when you get the chance. Cheers!

JC
The Obergemau Key

EYE OF THE DRAGON
I knew nothing about Castanedra before I read this so it proved to be a learning experience for me. And an interesting one. It’s a book I would buy to take on vacation when I knew I’d have hours of uninterrupted reading time so I could let myself sink into it and absorb the most out of it. I’m adding it to my shelf. If you have a moment, would you look at mine (Grain of Salt)? I’m in 3rd place but only holding on by my teeth. Burgio

In a genre that I would normally gloss over I found a fascinating insight into your thoughts, memories and perceptions of a world that you have experienced so much of. I am happy to say that I was well into the third section before I realised how long I had been reading.

Your clear and fulfilling writing is both a credit to the world most of us never choose to see and your wonderful ability to express it to the reader.

BACKED

What is here is very well written and crafted. I will keep looking in for you more polished stuff but this is backed for now any way.

So far, I don't have any negative feedback for your book. Here's some positive stuff: I really enjoy it when you speak of your "spiritual" experiences and when you talk about your experiences with Dreaming. I find that when one is learning something like Don Juan's teachings or Carlos Castanedas' teachings, there is so much room for miscommunication. So it's always nice to hear another person's experience, not exactly to compare "right" or "wrong", just to relate. There's more to it, but I can't put it into words.

Lot's more to read, though.

So far, I don't have any negative feedback for your book. Here's some positive stuff: I really enjoy it when you speak of your "spiritual" experiences and when you talk about your experiences with Dreaming. I find that when one is learning something like Don Juan's teachings or Carlos Castanedas' teachings, there is so much room for miscommunication. So it's always nice to hear another person's experience, not exactly to compare "right" or "wrong", just to relate. There's more to it, but I can't put it into words.

Lot's more to read, though.

So far, I don't have any negative feedback for your book. Here's some positive stuff: I really enjoy it when you speak of your "spiritual" experiences and when you talk about your experiences with Dreaming. I find that when one is learning something like Don Juan's teachings or Carlos Castanedas' teachings, there is so much room for miscommunication. So it's always nice to hear another person's experience, not exactly to compare "right" or "wrong", just to relate. There's more to it, but I can't put it into words.

Lot's more to read, though.

So far, I don't have any negative feedback for your book. Here's some positive stuff: I really enjoy it when you speak of your "spiritual" experiences and when you talk about your experiences with Dreaming. I find that when one is learning something like Don Juan's teachings or Carlos Castanedas' teachings, there is so much room for miscommunication. So it's always nice to hear another person's experience, not exactly to compare "right" or "wrong", just to relate. There's more to it, but I can't put it into words.

Lot's more to read, though.

So far, I don't have any negative feedback for your book. Here's some positive stuff: I really enjoy it when you speak of your "spiritual" experiences and when you talk about your experiences with Dreaming. I find that when one is learning something like Don Juan's teachings or Carlos Castanedas' teachings, there is so much room for miscommunication. So it's always nice to hear another person's experience, not exactly to compare "right" or "wrong", just to relate. There's more to it, but I can't put it into words.

Lot's more to read, though.

So far, I don't have any negative feedback for your book. Here's some positive stuff: I really enjoy it when you speak of your "spiritual" experiences and when you talk about your experiences with Dreaming. I find that when one is learning something like Don Juan's teachings or Carlos Castanedas' teachings, there is so much room for miscommunication. So it's always nice to hear another person's experience, not exactly to compare "right" or "wrong", just to relate. There's more to it, but I can't put it into words.

Lot's more to read, though.

Here is this author’s realization:

It “made me realize how blind human beings can be; and how ready we are to miss a point and become either judges or victims.”

And part of his purpose in writing this book:

“I am writing these notes with a double purpose: to help me get a better perspective and a new direction, and to maybe help a few others do the same.”

Here is an example from the polemic:

“I read about a six-year-old boy who died after breaking his neck under an extremely heavy load, too heavy for the child to carry. The article also said that he had been a slave all his life.... Should I ever feel sorry for myself? But actually, a more pertinent question would be, should I ever be sorry for that little boy? For just like that little boy I am going to die, and although longer, my life might well end up being much more miserable than his was. For only by reducing my self-importance to the lowest can I claim to be different from his captors and murderers; there is such a thing as a collective responsibility, a social contract. We all endorse a social contract that thrives in egomania, an egomania that causes the suffering of humanity by refusing to see the Whole.”

This then is going to be a thinking man’s book.

But there are more personal examples to make this book more immediate:

“I was sure that the vision would soon vanish due to my inability to hold it, as was usually the case. But to my surprise the scene stayed.... As soon the realization struck me, I felt myself being pulled into the vision. ‘I’ (or my ‘dreaming body’) was no longer in my bed or in my physical body, but in the covered back of a two-and-a-half ton truck.... It was obvious that I was not in the United States. I was nowhere that I could recognize. I meandered down the dirt road trying to figure out where I was. It seemed hot, maybe tropical.... "Where am I?"”

And no doubting the effect it had on the author:

“The "dreaming" experience mentioned before was indeed a new development for me, and it opened doors that I didn’t know existed.”

Or the consequences which most people might find scary and way out of the comfort zone:

“So I decided, as a first step, to drop my personal history.
I didn’t change my name nor did anything drastic. I just started erasing my personal history by not reinforcing it anymore and by changing my surroundings. Nobody knows who I am with certainty anymore, not even myself.”

But this is also a travelogue and as such we are bound to meet a variety of people along the way:

“We were a motley crew, we were. Wally was the elder, the captain, the owner of the boat, the man with the grizzled beard and scarce but long hair who was also a college professor. Tony was the second in command; he could fix just about anything; he was a seasoned merchant marine resting between ships. Caroline was also an experienced sailor and maybe the best amongst us. She was from England, and was sailing her way around the world to meet her boyfriend somewhere. I remember also Cathy and Keith who were Wally's teenage offspring, and Arthur was also there with Lonna, his Hawaiian girlfriend. And there was of course me, the inexperienced beginner, still traveling with a suitcase, ties and suits, just in case.”

But always with this personal “journey” in mind:

“In those days I related to my "dreaming body" as if it was my physical body, so I ‘walked’ or try to open doors as if my "dreaming body" had matter.... And I was excited but also chagrined; I had missed the opportunity to look at myself sleeping. One of the main goals of dreaming is to establish that you are actually in two places at once. Then, with lots of practice, the dreaming body can intend a physical body that can actually act in our daily world. The two locations can be equally real and either of them can be maintained and the other discarded.”

This I suspect is going to take a lot of swallowing, certainly to those of us brought up in the western tradition; but of course that makes it all the more interesting. I certainly have not come across anything quite like this on this site.

But there is also enough of the Bruce Chatwin here to engage the general reader:

“Nevertheless, it was in South America, while visiting my sister, that I really took a course of action.... I was down to my last dollars, so after saying (and writing) good-bye to everyone, I accepted two hundred dollars from my sister and let the road swallow me. I literally disappeared. For the next fifteen years nobody heard from me; nobody knew my whereabouts. The omens on the road would decide my fate.... I flew to the island of San Andres and then to Honduras in Central America. Taking this detour I bypassed another war in Nicaragua,...”

With detailed descriptions of what was encountered:

“The man I worked for next was in need of a harrowing experience himself. Jose had a small lumberyard, and he was planning to pay me two quetzals a day ($2.00), which was not going to be enough to feed myself. Therefore, thinking I was being ingenious, I decided to ask him if I could work for room and board. Jose agreed to let me sleep in the lumber shed. And for two days the family had their morbid fun watching me eat their serving: a watery soup with no aroma, flavor or substance, with meatless bones and a few beans in it accompanied by a couple of scrawny, old tortillas. They didn't eat with me; they just watched me eat with a sardonic look on their face. I couldn't understand their ill-will.... But the two young Mayan Indians who worked with me weren’t faring much better. They were treated like beasts of burden and given heavy loads of lumber to be carried over great distances...”

A decidedly different book in all respects. Shelved for its originality and interest.

I came back and commented since I was not able to read your book earlier when the book was acting up.

Well, I LOVED the prologue. I know Carlos Castanada through a former friend who was an acolyte in a way of Carlos's writing. I concur with your assessment, and I did BACK you a while back and just did so again. Good luck with this!

I do look forward to your comments and possible backing of my book if you have not done so already. Cheers!

JC
The Obergemau File

Rio
I was immediately drawn to this because I have read all of Casteneda’s books and have practiced some of his techniques. I too was a little hurt by the defamation of the man and gave up the argument with this conclusion: even if Carlos invented his apprenticeship and relationship with Don Juan, he still gets my unreserved respect – that is an amazing feat! I could never invent such a powerful and inspiring story.
However, you have now stirred this old memory and after reading your first three chapters, I have shelved this for your excellent writing and your cause. This is one of the small minority of books on the site that I will read in its entirety.
Thank you and best wishes with this.
David
Green Ore

Rio,
First, this is fascinating, and it's well written. Nevertheless, I'm not so sure an adequate review can be made of this work without reading the entire manuscript. After all, for you, this is the culmination of research and experimentation going back to your first reading of Castaneda's Journey to Ixtlan in the 1960s. But already, in these first few chapters, I can see the makings of an excellent book.

Here's one indication. You start off by describing the very realistic vision you had in Fullerton, California, in which you were transported to Morocco. You even describe freshly mowed grass. For me, that's a tidbit that wouldn't be there if this were not very real, or at least real to you. I wouldn't begin to judge the truth in this book without first, as I said, reading all of it, and second, having experienced what you experienced. But I do know this: You have a gift for telling this story, and I am very pleased to back it.
Mark

Looks interesting.On W/L , and will read and comment asap.Best, Grant

Because the website is currently acting up and I cannot read your book (or any other book), you are SHELVED! I do look forward to your forthcoming comments and possible backing of my book. Cheers!

JC
The Obergemau File

Hi S.

I love this. It’s brilliant! What a wonderful journey you take your readers on. This deserves to be read. I would definitely buy it. Your prose is precise and easy to read.

Shelved!

Shinzy :)

Well, Rio, I just love this book. You write beautifully, and I was soon at the end of chapter 3. I would certainly buy this book; I identify with much of your spiritual journey and lapped up every word. You are a true storyteller. If it gets into print please let me know as I want a copy. Backed immediately and with pleasure. Nicky.

Hi, Rio

This is a great subject for a book. I read the first 6 of the Castaneda books, back in my twenties. I seem to remember that Don Juan wasn't averse to using 'tricks' when he was teaching. Anything that helped him to help his student move their consciousness. I wonder if Castaneda himself employed such tricks in his writing. Just a thought.

I'm twitching to have a full on philosophical discussion with you...but that's probably just the twitching of my ego :)

Fascinating book though. And as far as I can see so far, well written. I'd certainly take a copy of this home from the library.

Hope it sees it into print.

All the best

I agree that people have a tendency to "endorse a social contract that thrives in egomania, an egomania that causes the suffering of humanity, for we don't see the Whole." The general acceptance of the American attack on and subsequent occupation of Iraq is a perfect example. You constantly hear news commentators state crap like, "at the time 'everyone' believed it to be a good idea" thinking that gives them the excuse for justifying the action.

I must admit, that when I was an anthropology major in undergraduate school and a person who, in general, was interested in understanding the greater whole, I was drawn to Castaneda's writings. This, of course, drew me to your book when I saw that Melanie had backed it. Your preface, however, has convinced me that I want to read it.

Frankly, I have never been able to focus on my hands when I'm dreaming. Even since I read that in one of Castaneda's books, I thought I'd be able to do that, but never did. I'm envious of your ability.

Anyway, your book reads well and I would love to spend a lot more time with it. You have been shelved!

Rio,

What a journey you've had! This is the most interesting non-fiction on the site, from what I've read - so insightful for my generation, fascinating topics and exceptionally well-written and paced. I am envious of your life experiences! :) I have always had an interest in shamanism and dreams so this, for me, is quite engaging!

You have my backing :)
Melanie~Dreamgate~

Rio, WOW, what a memoir, dreams, ocean crossings, and trudging through Central America, it doesn't get any more adventurous than that. Great story and what courage. You've already published one book so you probably don't need any editorial advice. But I think the book would be a lot more attractive by introducing some dialogue and drawing the reader into some of your experiences and relationships. Good luck with your book, great read.