Carlos Castaneda Quotes

  1. “The basic difference between an ordinary man and a warrior is that a warrior takes everything as a challenge while an ordinary man takes everything as a blessing or a curse.”
  2. “We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same.”
  3. “To seek freedom is the only driving force I know. Freedom to fly off into that infinity out there. Freedom to dissolve; to lift off; to be like the flame of a candle, which, in spite of being up against the light of a billion stars, remains intact, because it never pretended to be more than what it is: a mere candle.”
  4. “A warrior takes responsibility for his acts, for the most trivial of his acts.”
  5. “A man goes to knowledge as he goes to war: wide-awake, with fear, with respect, and with absolute assurance. Going to knowledge or going to war in any other manner is a mistake, and whoever makes it will live to regret his steps.”
  6. “The aim is to balance the terror of being alive with the wonder of being alive.”
  7. “For me there is only the traveling on paths that have heart, on any path that may have heart. There I travel, and the only worthwhile challenge is to traverse its full length. And there I travel looking, looking breathlessly.”
  8. “Hunting power is a strange affair. One must be aware and without haste at the same time.”
  9. “Death is the only wise advisor that we have. Whenever you feel, as you always do, that everything is going wrong and you’re about to be annihilated, turn to your death and ask if that is so. Your death will tell you that you’re wrong; that nothing really matters outside its touch.”
  10. “Only as a warrior can one withstand the path of knowledge. A warrior cannot complain or regret anything. His life is an endless challenge, and challenges cannot possibly be good or bad. Challenges are simply challenges.”
  1. “The warrior seeks impeccability in his own eyes and calls that humbleness. The average man is hooked to his fellow men, while the warrior is hooked only to infinity.”
  2. “To change our idea of what’s possible in the realm of feelings and perceptions can change how we interpret and interact with the world.”
  3. “The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same.”
  4. “A path is only a path, and there is no affront, to oneself or to others, in dropping it if that is what your heart tells you to do.”
  5. “Seek and see all the marvels around you. You will get tired of looking at yourself alone, and that fatigue will make you deaf and blind to everything else.”
  6. “You have everything needed for the extravagant journey that is your life.”
  7. “In the universe there is an immeasurable, indescribable force which shamans call intent, and absolutely everything that exists in the entire cosmos is attached to intent by a connecting link.”
  8. “A warrior acknowledges his pain but he doesn’t indulge in it.”
  9. “The art of being a warrior is to balance the wonder and the terror of being alive.”
  10. “Personal history must be constantly renewed by telling parents, friends, and relatives everything one does. On the other hand, the warrior keeps everything to himself.”
  11. “Silence is the only real observation point from which to observe the world without the distortions introduced by language.”
  12. “When a man decides to do something he must go all the way, but he must take responsibility for what he does. No matter what he does, he must know first why he is doing it, and then must proceed with his actions without having doubts or remorse about them.”
  13. “A warrior thinks of death when things become unclear. The idea of death is the only thing that tempers our spirit.”
  14. “The self-confidence of the warrior is not the self-confidence of the average man. The average man seeks certainty in the eyes of the onlooker and calls that self-confidence. The warrior seeks impeccability in his own eyes and calls that humbleness.”
  15. “The flaw with words is that they always make us feel enlightened, but when we turn around to face the world, they always fail us and we end up facing the world as we always have, without enlightenment.”
  16. “The warrior seeks impeccability in his own eyes and calls that humbleness. The average man is hooked to his fellow men, while the warrior is hooked only to infinity.”
  17. “To change our idea of what’s possible in the realm of feelings and perceptions can change how we interpret and interact with the world.”
  18. “The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same.”
  19. “A path is only a path, and there is no affront, to oneself or to others, in dropping it if that is what your heart tells you to do.”
  20. “Seek and see all the marvels around you. You will get tired of looking at yourself alone, and that fatigue will make you deaf and blind to everything else.”
  21. “You have everything needed for the extravagant journey that is your life.”
  22. “In the universe there is an immeasurable, indescribable force which shamans call intent, and absolutely everything that exists in the entire cosmos is attached to intent by a connecting link.”
  23. “A warrior acknowledges his pain but he doesn’t indulge in it.”
  24. “The art of being a warrior is to balance the wonder and the terror of being alive.”
  25. “Personal history must be constantly renewed by telling parents, friends, and relatives everything one does. On the other hand, the warrior keeps everything to himself.”
  26. “Silence is the only real observation point from which to observe the world without the distortions introduced by language.”
  27. “When a man decides to do something he must go all the way, but he must take responsibility for what he does. No matter what he does, he must know first why he is doing it, and then must proceed with his actions without having doubts or remorse about them.”
  28. “A warrior thinks of death when things become unclear. The idea of death is the only thing that tempers our spirit.”
  29. “The self-confidence of the warrior is not the self-confidence of the average man. The average man seeks certainty in the eyes of the onlooker and calls that self-confidence. The warrior seeks impeccability in his own eyes and calls that humbleness.”
  30. “The flaw with words is that they always make us feel enlightened, but when we turn around to face the world, they always fail us and we end up facing the world as we always have, without enlightenment.”
  31. “The most difficult thing in the world is to adopt the perspective of a warrior. It is no use without the willingness to act on it.”
  32. “Seeing happens only when one sneaks between the worlds; the world of ordinary people and the world of sorcerers. The real secret of sorcerers is their ability to jump between the two.”
  33. “The warrior’s way is to be aware of this marvelous being inside us.”
  34. “When we have nothing to lose, we become luminous beings.”
  35. “A warrior considers himself already dead, so there is nothing for him to lose. The worst has already happened to him, therefore he’s clear and calm.”
  36. “The hardest thing in the world is for a warrior to let others be.”
  37. “The path without a heart will turn against men and destroy them. It does not take much to die, and to seek death is to seek nothing.”
  38. “A warrior acts as if he knows what he is doing, when in effect he knows nothing.”
  39. “A warrior may choose pacifism; all others are condemned to it.”
  40. “Only as a warrior can one survive the path of knowledge, because the art of a warrior is to balance the terror of being a man with the wonder of being a man.”
  41. “Everything a warrior does is an act of love, or an act of war.”
  42. “There is no time for regrets or doubts. There is only time for decisions.”
  43. “To venture into the warrior’s world, or into sorcery, one needs to be fearless and crazed.”
  44. “The world doesn’t yield to us directly, the description of the world stands in between. So, to truly perceive the world, we must first break the description of the world.”
  45. “A warrior acknowledges his pain, but he doesn’t indulge in it.”
  46. “The spirit waits for the courage of those who are fearless.”
  47. “Intent is what can make a man succeed when his thoughts tell him that he is defeated. It operates in spite of the warrior’s indulgence. Intent is what makes him invulnerable.”
  48. “A warrior could be injured but not offended. For a warrior there is nothing offensive about the acts of his fellow men as long as he himself is acting within the proper mood.”
  49. “The basic difference between an ordinary man and a warrior is that a warrior takes everything as an act of challenge, while an ordinary man takes everything either as a blessing or a curse.”
  50. “The warrior’s path is simple but not easy. It requires one to detach from personal desires and learn to dream with the eyes open.

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