Carlos Castaneda quotes

Carlos Castaneda was a Peruvian-American author and anthropologist, famous for his books about shamanism and spiritual experiences with a Yaqui Indian named Don Juan Matus. His works attracted widespread attention and sparked debates about the nature of reality and personal transformation. He became an influential figure in the field of New Age spirituality and alternative thought. Here are 135 of his quotes:

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; judging him by his acts or by his words, one would never suspect that he has witnessed everything.

Carlos Castaneda

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.

Carlos Castaneda

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

Carlos Castaneda

Will is what can make you succeed when your thoughts tell you that you're defeated.

Carlos Castaneda

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

Carlos Castaneda

Self-importance is our greatest enemy. Think about it - what weakens us is feeling offended by the deeds and misdeeds of our fellowmen. Our self-importance requires that we spend most of our lives offended by someone.

Carlos Castaneda

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.

Carlos Castaneda

A warrior takes responsibility for his acts, for the most trivial of his acts. An average man acts out his thoughts, and never takes responsibility for what he does.

Carlos Castaneda

Look at every path closely and deliberately, then ask ourselves this crucial question: Does this path have a heart? If it does, then the path is good. If it doesn't, it is of no use.

Carlos Castaneda

A warrior doesn't know remorse for anything he has done, because to isolate one's acts as being mean, or ugly, or evil is to place an unwarranted importance on the self.

Carlos Castaneda

When nothing is for sure, we remain alert, perennially on our toes. It is more exciting not to know which bush the rabbit is hiding behind than to behave as though we knew everything.

Carlos Castaneda

A warrior chooses a path with heart, any path with heart, and follows it; and then he rejoices and laughs. He knows because he sees that his life will be over altogether too soon. He sees that nothing is more important than anything else.

Carlos Castaneda

In a world where death is the hunter, my friend, there is no time for regrets or doubts. There is only time for decisions.

Carlos Castaneda

The aim is to balance the terror of being alive with the wonder of being alive.

Carlos Castaneda

A warrior lives by acting, not by thinking about acting, nor by thinking about what he will think when he has finished acting.

Carlos Castaneda

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

Carlos Castaneda

A man of knowledge lives by acting, not by thinking about acting.

Carlos Castaneda

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.

Carlos Castaneda

An average man is too concerned with liking people or with being liked himself. A warrior likes, that's all. He likes whatever or whomever he wants, for the hell of it.

Carlos Castaneda

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.

Carlos Castaneda

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

Carlos Castaneda

The most effective way to live is as a warrior. A warrior may worry and think before making any decision, but once he makes it, he goes his way, free from worries or thoughts; there will be a million other decisions still awaiting him. That's the warrior's way.

Carlos Castaneda