The nature and meaning of the totalist

pp. 63-96

in: William Horosz, Search without idols, Berlin, Springer, 1987

Abstract

In the closing pages of Castaneda's book, The Fire From Within, don Juan contends that the mold of man can be seen from two different perspectives, that it can be seen as the shape of a man and also as a light. This shift in perspectives is merely a matter of moving the assemblage point to another position on the cocoon (another image of man). This signifies for the totalist, don Juan, that human perception and the perception of reality is never final. One can be a person in the shape of a man or be a "luminous being' in a "luminous world.' Standing midway between two worlds don Juan is saying that finite limitations are not real, in fact they may be illusory to some altered consciousness. This also means that man has the radical freedom to operate beyond his functions, not just beyond the limitations of the shape or mold of man.