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Quotes from The Wheel of Time: Shamans of Ancient Mexico, Their Thoughts About Life, Death and the Universe — Carlos Castaneda

1925–1998 Peru

← All quotes by Carlos Castaneda

50 quotes

The world is unfathomable. And so are we, and so is every being that exists in this world.

The Wheel of Time: Shamans of Ancient Mexico, Their Thoughts About Life, Death and the Universe (1998)

Nothing in this world is a gift. Whatever has to be learned must be learned the hard way.

The Wheel of Time: Shamans of Ancient Mexico, Their Thoughts About Life, Death and the Universe (1998)

A man has four natural enemies: fear, clarity, power, and old age. Fear, clarity and power can be overcome, but not old age. Its effect can be postponed, but it can never be overcome.

The Wheel of Time: Shamans of Ancient Mexico, Their Thoughts About Life, Death and the Universe (1998)

"Silent knowledge" is nothing but direct contact with "intent."

The Wheel of Time: Shamans of Ancient Mexico, Their Thoughts About Life, Death and the Universe (1998)

A warrior acts as if he knows what he is doing, when in effect he knows nothing.

The Wheel of Time: Shamans of Ancient Mexico, Their Thoughts About Life, Death and the Universe (1998)

When a warrior learns to stop the internal dialogue, everything becomes possible; the most far-fetched schemes become attainable.

The Wheel of Time: Shamans of Ancient Mexico, Their Thoughts About Life, Death and the Universe (1998)

If a warrior is to succeed in anything, the success must come gently, with a great deal of effort but with no stress or obsession.

The Wheel of Time: Shamans of Ancient Mexico, Their Thoughts About Life, Death and the Universe (1998)

Solace, haven, fear, all of these are words which have created moods that one has learned to accept without ever questioning their value.

The Wheel of Time: Shamans of Ancient Mexico, Their Thoughts About Life, Death and the Universe (1998)

Power rests on the kind of knowledge that one holds. What is the sense of knowing things that are useless? They will not prepare us for our unavoidable encounter with the unknown.

The Wheel of Time: Shamans of Ancient Mexico, Their Thoughts About Life, Death and the Universe (1998)

Therefore, one may say without being presumptuous that the experience of experiences is being alive.

The Wheel of Time: Shamans of Ancient Mexico, Their Thoughts About Life, Death and the Universe (1998)

Shamanism is a journey of return. A warrior returns victorious to the spirit, having descended into hell. And from hell he brings trophies. Understanding is one of his trophies.

The Wheel of Time: Shamans of Ancient Mexico, Their Thoughts About Life, Death and the Universe (1998)

To change our idea of the world is the crux of shamanism. And stopping the internal dialogue is the only way to accomplish it.

The Wheel of Time: Shamans of Ancient Mexico, Their Thoughts About Life, Death and the Universe (1998)

Knowledge is a most peculiar affair, especially for a warrior. Knowledge for a warrior is something that comes at once, engulfs him, and passes on.

The Wheel of Time: Shamans of Ancient Mexico, Their Thoughts About Life, Death and the Universe (1998)

There are lots of things a warrior can do at a certain time which he couldn't do years before. Those things themselves did not change; what changed was his idea of himself.

The Wheel of Time: Shamans of Ancient Mexico, Their Thoughts About Life, Death and the Universe (1998)

We hardly ever realize that we can cut anything out of our lives, anytime, in the blink of an eye.

The Wheel of Time: Shamans of Ancient Mexico, Their Thoughts About Life, Death and the Universe (1998)

Whenever the internal dialogue stops, the world collapses, and extraordinary facets of ourselves surface, as though they had been kept heavily guarded by our words.

The Wheel of Time: Shamans of Ancient Mexico, Their Thoughts About Life, Death and the Universe (1998)

A warrior must learn to make every act count, since he is going to be here in this world for only a short while, in fact, too short for witnessing all the marvels of it.

The Wheel of Time: Shamans of Ancient Mexico, Their Thoughts About Life, Death and the Universe (1998)

Dwelling upon the self too much produces a terrible fatigue. A man in that position is deaf and blind to everything else. The fatigue makes him cease to see the marvels all around him.

The Wheel of Time: Shamans of Ancient Mexico, Their Thoughts About Life, Death and the Universe (1998)

A warrior doesn't need personal history. One day, he finds it is no longer necessary for him, and he drops it.

The Wheel of Time: Shamans of Ancient Mexico, Their Thoughts About Life, Death and the Universe (1998)

Warriors do not win victories by beating their heads against walls, but by overtaking the walls. Warriors jump over walls; they don't demolish them.

The Wheel of Time: Shamans of Ancient Mexico, Their Thoughts About Life, Death and the Universe (1998)

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Carlos Castaneda (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.