- Taisha Abelar
Infobox writer
name = Taisha Abelar
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pseudonym =
birthname = Maryann Simko
birthdate =
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deathdate =
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occupation =Anthropologist ,Author
nationality = American
period = 20th-century
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subject =shamanism
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website =Taisha Abelar, born Maryann Simko, is an American author and anthropologist who was a close associate of
Carlos Castaneda . She disappeared shortly after Castaneda's death in 1998. [ [http://www.salon.com/books/feature/2007/04/12/castaneda/ "The Dark Legacy of Carlos Castaneda". Retrieved April 6, 2008 from salon.com] ]Taisha met
Carlos Castaneda when she was 19 years old and a student at UCLA where she eventually earned her Master’s degree and Ph.D. in Anthropology. [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=9O4OgShAe74C&pg=PA405&lpg=PA405&dq=Maryann+Simko+taisha+abelar&source=web&ots=NDTCmsvEeh&sig=pT5MC4YAgBUyU76iY1ZkJIJIyw4&hl=en#PPA406,M1 Sorcerer's Apprentice: My Life with Carlos Castaneda By Amy Wallace] ] In 1973 Castaneda purchased a compound on Pandora Avenue in Westwood LA and soon after Taisha (she was still known as Maryann Simko at this time), along with Regine Thal, and Kathleen Pohlman, who would come to be known collectively as “the witches”, moved in.In keeping with Castaneda’s philosophy of "erasing personal history," the witches maintained a tight veil of secrecy. They used numerous aliases and generally did not allow themselves to be photographed. Not long after moving into Castaneda’s compound Maryann Simko changed her name to Taisha Abelar. Likewise Regine Thal changed her name to
Florinda Donner and Kathleen Pohlman hers toCarol Tiggs .Taisha claimed to have been one of Don Juan’s four students and says she spent a year in his “magical house” in Mexico. In 1992 her book "", which purportedly documents the training she received from the female members of don Juan’s group, was published by Penguin books. [ [http://www.amazon.com/dp/0140193669 The Sorcerer’s Crossing: A Woman’s Journey] ]
Through the 1990s Taisha and the other witches started giving workshops in Tensegrity for
Cleargreen Incorporated , a company formed by Castaneda for that purpose.After Castaneda’s death in 1998 Taisha left Los Angeles and has not been heard from since.
References
ee also
* Castaneda Bibliography
*Carlos Castaneda
* Tensegrity
*Lucid Dream
*Nagual (Castaneda)
*Neoshamanism
*New Age
*Plastic shaman
*Recapitulation (Castaneda)
*Toltec (Castaneda)
*Florinda Donner
*Carol Tiggs
*Patricia Partin
*Amalia Marquez Links
* [http://integral-options.blogspot.com/2007/04/abusive-guru-carlos-castaneda.html About abusive gurus]
* [http://www.sustainedaction.org/Chronologies/chronFlorindaII.htm Sustainedaction.com]
* [http://www.lib.ru/KASTANEDA/kast94.txt About Castanedan neo-shamanism.]
* [http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/article.asp?ID=6429 Article about Castaneda and his followers.]
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