THE TEACHINGS OF BETTY WHIPPLE
Rising Star Publisher
The reason for my website is to promote my first two books,
CHOLOS: DREAMS & NIGHTMARES
by Frank R. Castillo, a book that few people would dare write.
and CHICANO TODAY Life in Aztlan
Since I am a first time author and new self-publisher, I do not have the resources that other publishing companies have.
Screen Shot: Project BOB
Preface
When I attended UCI as a freshman, I remember reading and learning about a certain author, Carlos Castaneda. In fact, I took a class with him as he was a visiting professor at the university. I remember having to read all of his three books Teachings of Don Juan, Tales of Power and Separate Reality.
His books were about having met a certain brujo named Don Juan and how he too became a brujo in the Mexican Sonora desert. He would transform himself into a raven or a coyote. Because of his magical powers, he had many adventures. I remember that some students were fascinated with him and his books. They would always ask him questions about his stories.
I was always skeptical about what he wrote about. Although I was Mexican and had heard of some stories of brujos, I still didn’t whole-heartedly embrace him or his books. Little was I to know that a few years later I too would truly live such adventures of power and wonder through the Life in The Spirit. I had no idea that I too would meet a spiritual director, whom I too would be writing about in The Teachings of Betty Whipple.
Because I chose Spanish as a major, I read many books in Spanish including one about a priest who is an atheist. This was the last straw for a young Latino struggling with his own faith.
If we are what we eat, then also we must be a part of the people whom we have encountered, good or bad. The person, their beliefs, their idiosyncrasies, their style, - who they are, something of them has rubbed off on you. Some of these people, maybe just a little while others maybe a lot.
This is not a biography about Betty, rather it is about her teachings. This is more of a reflection where you consciously make decisions of what to include and what to leave out. And also where your memory is incomplete.
You remember and “see” things imperfectly. It is also like a book, a movie or a dream in that you only remember parts of it, some parts more clearly than others.
I wish I had had a camera, a tape recorder or camcorder of my meetings with Betty. But like the rest of my life I don’t usually carry them with me. I wish I had gone home and written notes or kept a journal. But it wasn’t that way. It is never that way. Look at life. We have cameras and we take samples of life. But we cannot capture all of life.
Why a spiritual book? I was telling a 20 something year old cholo who had purchased my first book about my second one. Excitedly, he asked me “What’s the title of the next one and what is it about?” When I responded with the name of the title and told him it was a spiritual book, he looked totally confused and disappointed. I was surprised and disappointed by his reaction. He said “Me and God just don’t get along”. I said ‘That I hadn’t anticipated his response’.
Then I thought about it. This is the exact reason why I must write this book. He represents everything that I’m trying to accomplish. I told him I used to be like him and in his shoes too, a long, long time ago.
When you read a spiritual book or the scriptures, you need to approach it like Martha at the feet of Jesus. Know you are listening to Jesus. Know that you are going to listen to a story, a parable or an instruction like in the Bible. Get in a comfortable position. Be prepared to spend some quality time and hours. No distractions - no phones,
Be prepared to be challenged. Be prepared to be inspired. Be prepared to become alive.
As I thought about a recent suicide by a young person in my community, the recent scandals with the abuse of priests in our Catholic Church, and as we talk of another upcoming war, the need for spiritual direction and guidance both personal and as a group has never been greater. May we use these occasions and all others as opportunities to get closer to our Creator. My hope is that this book will lead you closer to God.
