Hey Joniacs - Chew some peyote, swallow some gelatin capsules of mesc, or nibble on some magic mushrooms and check out this account of Joni and Rosanna Arquette as part of an audience for a certain Grandfather Cachora who claims to the be the shaman on which Carlos Castaneda based his character for Don Juan Matus, the legendary "brujo" of such books as JOURNEY TO IXTLAN, TALES OF POWER and THE FIRE FROM WITHIN. I was interested in the Castaneda books as a teenager, and of course, they made me want to take drugs, have my own hallucinations, learn to fly without a plane or a broom, and cultivate my own power. Well, I did learn to fly, but I have to use a dust mop. But even as a pot head in the Seventies, I read these books as entertainment and never considered them anything other than a very interesting and unevenly written fiction. And so did the UCLA Department of Anthropology who rejected Castaneda's thesis as a series of invalid fabrications. But the Castaneda books were popular, especially among pot heads, and they had a lot of interesting ideas that Castaneda "borrowed" from various Eastern spiritual disciplines and philosophies, especially the writings of Nietzsche. Some have even called Castaneda the "father of the New Age movement" which at least gives us all someone to blame it on. Joni has mentioned how much she enjoyed those books, but I wonder what she really thought of this shaman who decided to leave the desert for a mansion in Bel-Air and discuss his rather muddled ideas. Cachora also mentions his dual Mongolian and Toltec heritage. According to this report, the hundred dollar ticket included sushi and pretty blondes serving herb tea and ginseng drinks. Wish I was there. As a writer, I am always looking for material. In any case, the account includes some interesting passages with Joni asking questions, explaining a mandala, etc. I spoke with the writer of this piece a certain "Cory Donovan" who is both a Jonist and former disciple of Castaneda's. Cory's life work has been about discrediting Castaneda as nothing more than a typically corrupt guru with a harem of devoted women who would pimp for him. Apparently Castaneda had a typical human weakness for power and money, the usual perks of guru-dom, and he attracted narcissists like honey draws ants. Cory says Joni was not wearing any make up, did not look well, took cigarette breaks and was wearing a full length black leather coat. He puts her in the narcissist category and compares her to Frida Kahlo who also painted numerous self-portraits. Because of Cory's own fascination with Castaneda, he always thought that the Don Juan of the Reckless Daughter song was the brujo/shaman of the Castaneda books as opposed to the damned seducer of the Mozart opera and the Spanish play. You can read the whole account at: http://www.sustainedaction.org Type Joni Mitchell into the search tool. love, peace, and mind shattering orgasms, Clark NP: Eminem (again)
