WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THE DEATH OF CARLOS CASTANEDA

The following events were taken from accounts given by the press and also by Richard Jennings on his website sustainedaction.org and Amy Wallace in her book "The Sorcerer's Apprentice." Richard and Amy were part of Carlos Castaneda's inner circle.

For a better understanding of this chronology, you should know that:

Carol Tiggs was 'the nagual woman' and Castaneda's partner

Nury Alexander was Castaneda's adopted daughter

Taisha Abelar was one of Castaneda's witches

Florinda Donner  was another of Castaneda's witches

Talia Bey was the president of Cleargreen, the company Castaneda founded to market his teachings.

Kylie Lundahl was the leader of the tensegrity instructors

These six women were the people closest to Castaneda.

CHRONOLOGY

Just after Castaneda's death

Carlos Castaneda died on April 27, 1998 at 3:00 am.

Taisha, Florinda, Talia, and Kylie leave in two cars after emptying their apartments, canceling their phone and utility services, and having given away their jewelry and other precious items to Amy and other Cleargreen members in the preceding weeks.

On April 27, 1998, at 3:30 p.m., Amy called Taisha's number, just as she had requested the day before, but the line was dead. She called Florinda's and Castaneda's phone numbers with the same result. Carol's number did work.

Carol, being the only one left, becomes the leader of Cleargreen. She chooses not to reveal Castaneda's death and the disappearance of the five women to the public. However, she does have to tell the Cleargreen staff, since they lived with the other women almost daily. She tells them that: "Castaneda and the other women burned with inner fire, transformed into spheres of conscious light, and passed into another dimension: the sea of ​​consciousness."

That is what the great sorcerers achieve in the teachings of Don Juan: to escape death, projecting themselves while still alive into this other dimension.

Carol prefers to lie to her colleagues rather than tell them the truth, and even took them to Castaneda's residence to show them the places where he and his women supposedly made this ascent, and asked them to keep it a secret.

Workshop in Santa Monica

On May 2, 1998, the Tensegrity Workshop was held in the gymnasium of Santa Monica College. Carol spoke briefly at the beginning, mentioning how Old Florinda (Castaneda's teacher) had stayed with them, and expressed her gratitude, appearing moved to tears, but the atmosphere was somber.

Carol spoke for only 10 minutes instead of the scheduled 30. She said that after Don Juan's group left, an "event" occurred that led them to decide to teach the magic passes to the public. She said that the "great" Florinda, whom they called that because she was "so tall and elegant and had incredible strength," stayed behind after Don Juan's group left to "perfect the four of us."

(Cid's note: She is referring to Castaneda, herself, Taisha, and Florinda Donner, but if Carol supposedly left with Don Juan's group, as Castaneda and his disciples claimed, then Carol shouldn't have been present to receive further training from Master Florinda, and this is another contradiction in the lies told by Castaneda and his women.)

Carol's voice cracked, but she quickly recovered and went on to say that one of the reasons they had made Tensegrity public was to search for something that the great Florinda had predicted before she left.

She had said that if the four of them had the courage to follow the warrior's path with all their might, one day the time would come when the atmosphere of the ancient sorcerers would disappear completely, and instead of being heavy, cold, and distant, they would find a new atmosphere, one that was light and very precise.

"That moment has finally arrived," she declared, "and it happened right here in this room, last month, in the last workshop."

She claimed to have witnessed it personally and attributed it to a combination of the participants' and instructors' energy. She said a new atmosphere had begun and would prevail from now on. Later, Zaia said that "giving it their all" while instructing us was her way of thanking us for all the help they had received.

Nury's car is found

On May 2, 1998, Nury's red Ford Escort was found abandoned on a dirt road near the Panamint Dunes in Death Valley by park ranger Dave Brenner, who had inspected the vehicle and taken photographs.

She called the police and Cleargreen, since the car was registered to Cleargreen. Amy was there when Brandon answered the call.

Days later, one or more officers from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) arrived at the office and met with Tracy Kramer. Afterward, Tracy drove to Death Valley, and the other members of the group feared she was going to commit suicide.

The following workshops

On May 7, 1998, Cleargreen sent an unsigned letter to those registered for the Munich workshop stating that "due to an unforeseen energy shift, none of Don Juan's three students will be available to teach at this workshop," and that instead, classes would be taught by "members of our German team of shamanic instructors, each of whom is a student of Carlos Castaneda, Taisha Abelar, Florinda Donner-Grau, and Carol Tiggs." Because of this change, they reduced the price.

On May 8, 1998, Castaneda's will was filed with the Superior Court of Los Angeles.

A letter signed by Fabricio, in his capacity as finance director, announced the cancellation of Friday night's conference for the Mountain View workshop.

The Munich Workshop took place on May 23 and 24, 1998. Darien described how he had asked the Witches for help with his talk, saying that only Carlos had responded, indicating that it was a task he should undertake alone. They also advised him that every word a shaman utters is a promise to the infinite. (Carla Luciani's notes report that when she asked Fabricio why the Witches hadn't come, he told her, "Oh, but they'll be at the Ontario workshop in August.")

On June 6, 1998, a one-day workshop was held in Los Altos, at the Foothill College gymnasium. Renata Murez, a Tensegrity instructor, opened the workshop by stating, “I belong to Carol Tiggs.”

On June 13, 1998, a one-day workshop was held in New York City at the Hunter College basketball gymnasium. Rylin DeMaris was introduced as "the new energy monitor."

Castaneda's death is made public

On June 19, 1998 (nearly two months later!) the "Los Angeles Times" newspaper published an obituary for Castaneda that appeared on the front page.

The following day, the "New York Times" also published an obituary for Castaneda, stating that Carlton Jeremy Castaneda (Castaneda's adopted son) was responsible for making the news of Castaneda's death public.

Cleargreen staff gave different answers to callers asking where the Witches were. Some were told they were "traveling," while others were told they were "at the Second Attention," until finally they stopped answering altogether.

On June 22, 1998, Cleargreen's website published Cleargreen's official statement, which included the following statement:

« For Don Juan, the warrior was a being who, when the time came, embarked on a definitive journey of consciousness, 'crossing towards total freedom'.

Don Juan described this option to his apprentice:

"Warriors can retain their consciousness, which is normally abandoned, at the moment of death. At the moment of transition, the entire body is illuminated with knowledge. Every cell becomes aware of itself and also of the entire body."

Carlos Castaneda left this world in the same way as his master, Don Juan Matus: with full consciousness. The cognition of our everyday world does not allow us to describe a phenomenon like this. Therefore, in accordance with the legal norms and records required by the everyday world, the death of Carlos Castaneda was declared .

(Cid's note: Cleargreen says that Castaneda did transform into light, but since this concept doesn't exist in the US bureaucracy, that's why they said he died. What hypocrisy on the part of Carol and the other Cleargreen leaders!)

The following workshops

From July 31 to August 2, 1998, an intensive workshop was held at the Ontario Convention Centre, Exhibition Hall A.

Carol spoke on the 2nd, beginning: "I am Carol Tiggs. I was the only one energetically available for tonight." She advised the sorcerers to fill themselves with experience before departing and described Castaneda as someone who "left the world saturated with consciousness."

She advised people against joining or trying to catch up with Don Juan or Castaneda. "They're running, and we're following them. It's impossible to stay the way we were. Just do the work." She also claimed to speak on behalf of the other two witches.

This was Carol's last public appearance until she appeared in two workshops in 2015 and 2016, and she has not appeared since.

On August 14, 1998, Carol told Amy that she wasn't happy with how Debbie Drooz (Castaneda's executor) was handling the probate process. Tracy and Bruce were going to talk to her and help out. With the estate in probate, there was little money available.

Carol told Amy that the workshop in Germany had almost been a net loss. The next one had gone well. She said that Taisha had tried to hide money, and Carol seemed to imply that she wished they had.

There was also a conflict with the publisher HarperCollins regarding the book " Magic Passes ." They had decided to make only two videos instead of four.

In November 1998, HarperCollins published Castaneda's book " The Active Side of Infinity ." Carol is not mentioned in the book, even though a moving chapter about her "return" was read at the Pasadena workshop in November-December 1996.

Could Castaneda have omitted it because he was angry at Carol's decision not to leave with the other witches after his death? Was he bothered by the string of love affairs she had with men in the group while he was dying? Or did Carol have something to do with his elimination, knowing that a quick search of public records would reveal that he hadn't physically left for ten years?

On November 7 and 8, 1998, a workshop was held in Mexico City. Brandon and Miles answered the question, "Where are the Witches?" by stating: "They stayed behind to supervise the movement instructors. They oversee things as they develop. There are no more hierarchies."

To the question, "What happened to the Nagual's group?", they responded: "The elements weren't present (when he left). Only Carlos's companions. Don Juan took his group of 16 warriors. Castaneda didn't. He made a bold energetic maneuver. He left alone and left an energetic doorway open for anyone who could cross it. Castaneda said he had a debt to Spirit and wanted to repay it, leaving the opportunity for anyone to follow him. Through the Nagual's affection for his fellow beings, he created a connection for each of us with the infinite. He loved the sublime nature of the human race."

On November 25, 1998, there was a special Tensegrity session at Crossroads School that Reni had asked Richard to help organize, inviting about a dozen people from the previous Sunday's class group. Most of Cleargreen was present. They gave out plastic bricks for special breathing exercises.

Miles read a statement about Castaneda saying that he had already “set up” all the workshops that followed, and stated that the Witches were overseeing things, but that they “probably would not” attend the workshops to avoid setting in a “guru” mentality.

Cleargreen continues to insist that witches are supervising

On February 23, 1999, "The Journal of Magical Pass Practitioners" on the Cleargreen website repeated the statement read by Rylin at the Pomona workshop:

“Don Juan’s three students would like us to read the following to you: . . . Don Juan’s three students said that it is fabulous to see what these practitioners, these apprentices, are doing. You are apprentices, if you so wish. There is no group; what there is is an agreement on the art of attention. This is fully evident today.”

In April 1999, an interview was conducted by Concha Labarta (workshop promoter in Spain) with Darien Donner, Gavin Allister and Brandon Scott in the magazine "Más Allá".

When asked: What is the current situation of Carlos Castaneda's companions, Florinda Donner Grau, Taisha Abelar and Carol Tiggs?

Darien replied, “Don Juan’s students are here to oversee our efforts. You could say they’re our advisors. They want to see if it’s possible for a group to pursue an abstract goal without following a guru or a leader.”

On April 17, 1999, the Cleargreen website newsletter answered some questions. The final question and its answer are: “Why did Don Juan’s students [Carol, Taisha, and Florinda] stay here when they were normally supposed to leave with Castaneda? Will they participate in the workshops?”

The response was: “Don Juan Matus’s three students are here to oversee the efforts of the Tensegrity instructors to realize one of Carlos Castaneda’s most cherished dreams: the dream of a unified body of individual practitioners of the magical passes who resume their interrupted journey of consciousness. For the time being, they will not be personally participating in the workshops because they wish for this dream to be realized. For Carlos Castaneda and for them, it is a dream in which a group of practitioners focuses not on a person or a group of people, but on the abstract purpose of freedom of perception.”

Workshop in Barcelona

On June 5 and 6, 1999, a Barcelona Workshop was held which was attended by more than 750 people.

Miles, in his introduction, explained that the “three remaining disciples” had stayed behind, just as Florinda Matus had stayed behind to complete the teaching of Castaneda and the Witches, to ensure that the vision of a unified body of warriors would become a reality.

Gavin said that the spirit of the times dictated that today we no longer need naguals or gurus to help us on the warrior's path.

During the question-and-answer session, in response to a question about family relationships, they encouraged people to “maintain a good relationship with our parents and respect what they have done for us.” But that didn't sound at all like Castaneda's position, who had always pressured his disciples to separate from their families, so “revisionist nagualism” was already underway.

When asked, "How can one be with your group?", they replied, "You are part of our group, we have no advantage over you."

There were also question-and-answer sessions in different languages. Rylin and Reni led the English session. When asked, "How do the three witches teach you? Do they teach you directly, in dreams, how?"

One of them replied: "We don't summon them, they call us. Sometimes we receive a phone call, we have meetings before the workshops. They let us work on our own, they supervise us from a distance."

In the French session, Nyei answered a similar question: What is your relationship with witches?

Nyei reportedly said, "The witches follow the energy. They are always here to help us teach the magical passes. There is no way to predict when we will meet them. It is up to us to make the decisions. They give us guidance, but not orders."

When asked about the Death Challenger and his whereabouts, they replied: “The Death Challenger is here, but he is not energetically available. He freely chooses to be in this world. His gift to Carlos Castaneda was that Carlos could leave the door open for anyone who wished to enter the warrior's path to freedom.”

Another person's notes indicated that the Death Challenger was present in the workshop in an abstract way. "She feels that her appearance is too imposing for people to see, so she prefers to remain on other planes."

They also said that it was “largely thanks to the instigation and energy of the Death Challenger that the passes were taught publicly, and that it was his gift to Castaneda that he could leave an energetic doorway open for anyone who follows the warrior's path to pass through.”

The fraud is revealed

On June 23, 1999, the website Sustained Action published timelines that proved Castaneda had been lying.

In response, Cleargreen's website published the following statement on July 2, 1999:

" We have recently received several reports and inquiries from practitioners of magical passes regarding the emergence of a renewed interest in the personal history and data of Carlos Castaneda and his colleagues." 

[The statement then repeats a statement Castaneda had issued a couple of years earlier on the website, trying to deflect interest from his personal story.]

The Nagua told us that seers, instead of trying to categorize their fellow beings, prefer to dream them. They know they have very little time in this physical form, and they want to spend it filling themselves with awareness, rather than with useless information.

Often people would go to great lengths to meet and speak with the Nagual, only to ask: Where do you live? How old are you? Are you married? and things like that. These are not the real questions, even though they may seem like it.

He told us that the real questions we should be asking ourselves are: What are you doing with your life? Are you following a path with your heart? And if it isn't a path with your heart, he said, then we must have the courage to abandon it and find something that is, before our brief time on Earth is over.

[They then quote a passage from Castaneda's introduction to the 30th anniversary edition of The Teachings of Don Juan, where he states that warriors cannot worry about "everyday matters because the only thing that matters is their encounter with the infinite."]

For Don Juan, this was an energetic fact. Like Don Juan and the seers of his lineage, Carlos Castaneda spoke in terms of energetic facts: conclusions those seers reached based on their ability to see energy directly as it flows in the universe.

In describing these energetic events, Carlos Castaneda's effort was to build a bridge—for his apprentices and for all practitioners of magical passes—between the cognitive world of everyday life and the cognitive world of the seers of ancient Mexico. He told us that he had brought us to this bridge, but that crossing it would be a voluntary decision for each of us individually. For those interested: Let's do it ! 

The remains of Nury Alexander's skeleton are discovered

On February 15, 2003, hikers found bones scattered in the Panamint dunes. Subsequent investigation led Inyo County investigators to link the remains to the red Ford Escort that Nury had abandoned nearby and which was found on May 2, 1998.

In February 2006, those remains were positively identified as belonging to Nury Alexander using advanced DNA analysis techniques. They were compared with DNA samples taken from Nury's mother and three sisters.

VERIFICATION

Despite the fact that the detective couple Gaby and Greg filmed Castaneda as he became increasingly ill, despite the death certificate indicating that Castaneda died of liver cancer, despite the cremation certificate issued by the Spalding Funeral Home in Culver City, despite the fact that Nury Alexander was confirmed to have died in Death Valley, and despite the fact that more than a quarter of a century has passed without any news of the four remaining missing women.

Cleargreen continues to declare that Carlos Castaneda escaped death by transforming into conscious light and that his five women are "traveling".

And this shows you the incredible cynicism of the leaders of that organization who, regardless of how much evidence they have against them, prefer to continue with this charade rather than tell the truth, so they can continue to deceive people.