Carlos Castaneda and the Theater of the Real

Once you realize what Carlos was up to, all the clues are right there in his writings and talks. For example, very early on Don Juan is somewhat upset that Carlos's "power animal" is an unreliable coyote instead of a stupendous power animal like a snake. Is Carlos not simply telling us to take what he recounts with a grain of salt?

Likewise he introduces the concept of "tales of power" - of stories that may or may not be true, but carry power.

Later, in his public talks, he introduces "theater of the real." Is this theater not his everyday life, the man (and his group) behind the meme?

But does this mean a Carlos as fraud is also a Carlos without substance? I don't think so. Despite spending the past five years coming out of denial that Carlos was quite the big liar, his writings still amaze me, and never cease to instruct. Not to mention that his system of body work, Tensegrity, produces some pretty potent shifts in awareness.

Unlike the Wizard of Oz, where a carnival huckster devoid of all substance is finally revealed behind the curtain, when the curtain is pulled aside on Carlos Castaneda we are left Charlie Coyote. Not Charlie Spider, his birth name, but the inventive, and true, wizard of odd.