Carlos Castaneda and the addiction to enchantment: spiritual fabulism, altered consciousness, and the dangers of delusion

The piece argues that humans have a deep need for enchantment and altered consciousness, pursued through both drugs and stories, but that either can become an addictive escape from reality. Carlos Castaneda is presented as a leading example of spiritual fabulism: his Don Juan books created an apparently coherent world of secret knowledge, magical apprenticeship, and indigenous sorcery that attracted millions of readers. The account emphasizes Castaneda's self-invention, the institutional legitimacy supplied by UCLA and University of California Press, and the cultural appeal of his work to young people experimenting with psychedelics and rejecting mainstream society. It frames the episode as a lesson in discrimination and harm reduction, warning that enchanting narratives can heal or become delusional labyrinths when accepted without skepticism. The supplied excerpt ends as critical voices begin to emerge.