A Separate Reality: Further Conversations With Don Juan

I've been enjoying St. Augustine's The City of God, and have been faithfully reading it every day, but I've also been reading the second Carlos Castaneda book, A Separate Reality: Further Conversations With Don Juan. And I have to admit that when it comes to the latter, it's almost like I have a thirst for that book. This morning that thirst was so intense that I put The City of God down after just a few pages and picked up A Separate Reality. 

Ahhhh. Like sinking into a warm bath.

For a moment, the accusations against Castaneda flittered across my vision: there was no such person as don Juan, Castaneda had made him up; Castaneda had created his books while sitting in a library, and had plagiarized his material from various sources; Castaneda was a charlatan, a snake oil salesman, and his books were essentially fiction. Then I shook the flits out of my eyes and started reading.

Oh, man. Carlos had failed to kill the bird which was the manifestation of don Juan's enemy, and now the only way to stop her from killing don Juan was to stick her in the belly with a desiccated boar's leg, which would cause the boar to enter into her, and then she would leave don Juan alone. Castaneda didn't want to do it, so he got into his car and drove away. Just as disappointment and fear for don Juan flooded my mouth with the taste of street corn, Castaneda turned the car around and drove back to find don Juan patiently waiting for him.

I paused to savor my happiness, and then doubt flitted into my vision again. This couldn't possibly be true, could it?

My first answer was, "Who gives a fuck? Was The Lord of the Rings true? I want to know what happens next!" (I knew that Castaneda wouldn't die, since there were still a dozen more books in the series, but....)

My second answer was, "I still have to look into some questions which were levied against Castaneda, but so far I feel that the contents of this book have swatted down the doubts I've encountered.

Well, enough already. 50 pages to go, and I might just finish them now. And then get back to The City of God. 

And tomorrow,  Journey to Ixtlan: The Lessons of Don Juan.

😉