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A warrior is someone who seeks freedom. Sadness is not freedom. We must snap out of it. Having a sense of detachment entails having a moment's pause to reassess situations.

— Carlos Castaneda The Eagle's Gift (1981)

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Work: The Eagle's Gift, 1981
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More by Carlos Castaneda

"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)

Dissipating a mood through overanalyzing it wastes our power.

The Eagle's Gift (1981)

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)

All Carlos Castaneda quotes →

More quotes by Carlos Castaneda

There is a question that a warrior has to ask, mandatorily: Does this path have a heart?...a path without a heart is never enjoyable.

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)

A warrior knows that he is waiting and knows also what he is waiting for, and while he waits he feasts his eyes on the world. The ultimate accomplishment of a warrior is joy.

The Eagle's Gift (1981)

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Carlos Castaneda (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.