Quotes
“To be a warrior is not a simple matter of wishing to be one. It is rather an endless struggle that will go on to the last moment of our lives. Nobody is born a warrior in exactly the same way that no one is born an average man. We make ourselves into one or the other. --133
“The hardest thing in the world is to assume the mood of a warrior. It is of no use to be sand and complain and feel justified in doing so, believing that someone is always doing something to us. Nobody is doing anything to anybody, much less to a warrior.” --96
“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.” --140
“Only the idea of death makes a warrior sufficiently detached so that he is capable of abandoning himself to anything. He knows his death is stalking him and won’t give him time to cling to anything, so he tries, without craving, all of everything.” --57
The Wheel of Time
Anthropologists give Carlos Castaneda a lot of shit because he never produced or revealed the true nature of his sources. They think he made it up. And they act like that is an attack! If he made all this up, this dude is a philosophical GENIUS. Read this compilation of quotes from his books and you will find a cohesive paradigm that will serve you as well in times of success as despair. His teachings and aphorisms have formed the backbone of the warrior code for myself and thousands more.
Quotes
“To be a warrior is not a simple matter of wishing to be one. It is rather an endless struggle that will go on to the last moment of our lives. Nobody is born a warrior in exactly the same way that no one is born an average man. We make ourselves into one or the other. --133
“The hardest thing in the world is to assume the mood of a warrior. It is of no use to be sand and complain and feel justified in doing so, believing that someone is always doing something to us. Nobody is doing anything to anybody, much less to a warrior.” --96
“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.” --140
“Only the idea of death makes a warrior sufficiently detached so that he is capable of abandoning himself to anything. He knows his death is stalking him and won’t give him time to cling to anything, so he tries, without craving, all of everything.” --57
Hola
Great job, know about la “Abuelita”, took it several times, amazing, read about Carlos around 1977 or so, @ 50, still growing, feeling sometimes like I don’t know shit about anything (lately, most of the times)
Again, Great job man, keep growing…let people know…is your path…you are your path…
Daniel
oh my goodness, I have been searching for this book for almost a decade! I read it in my mid-twenties and it blew my mind. I still have random images from the story pop into my head sometimes. Scrolling through and seeing this book just made my stomach jump. I guess this means I need to re-read it now!
Right on— I have no doubts you are wise beyond your years and words. You sound like socrates who said “I know nothing”— Thanks for the support!