In this article, we want to share with you Carlos Castaneda quotes. If you’ve read his books, these quotes will help you remember the basic ideas of don Juan’s teachings. And if you have never read his books, then Carlos Castaneda quotes described in this article will help you to get acquainted with this mysterious author and may even inspire you to read his books.

Who is Carlos Castaneda?

Carlos Castaneda is one of the greatest mysteries of the XX century. All we know for sure about this person is that he is the author of ten unique books, each of which became a bestseller, as well as the founder of the publishing company “Cleargreen Inc.“, which currently owns the rights to all his creative heritage. Any other information represents only conjectures, riddles, and assumptions.

Almost throughout his life, Carlos Castaneda hid his personal history, forbade himself to photograph (although a few photos of Castaneda’s still there), and for all life has given only a few interviews.

Carlos Castaneda was a master of hoaxes. Every time he spoke about himself, he came up with a different place of birth, different information about who his parents were, a new “legend” about himself.

His desire to escape from the human eye and avoid any certainty stems from the basic requirement that applies to the magicians of the line of Don Juan – always remain flexible, elusive, not limited to any framework, stereotypes and opinions of people, as well as to avoid any behavioral patterns and reactions. In the terminology of Toltec magicians, this is called “erasing personal history.” Based on this basic premise, we can say for sure that humanity will never know the truth about Carlos Castaneda’s life and whether Don Juan actually existed.

Carlos Castaneda Quotes

#1

“We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same.” – Carlos Castaneda

#2

“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.” – Carlos Castaneda

#3

“I’m never angry at anybody! No human being can do anything important enough for that. You get angry at people when you feel that their acts are important. I don’t feel that way any longer.” – Carlos Castaneda

#4

“Self-pity is the real enemy and the source of man’s misery. Without a degree of pity for himself, man could not afford to be as self-important as he is. However, once the force of self-importance is engaged, it develops its own momentum. And it is this seemingly independent nature of self-importance which gives it its fake sense of worth.” – Carlos Castaneda

#5

“A man of knowledge lives by acting, not by thinking about acting. ” – Carlos Castaneda

#6

“A warrior considers himself already dead, so there is nothing 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

#7

“An average man doesn’t do this, though. The world is never a mystery for him, and when he arrives at old age he is convinced he has nothing more to live for. An old man has not exhausted the world. He has exhausted only what people do. But in his stupid confusion, he believes that the world has no more mysteries for him. What a wretched price to pay for our shields!” – Carlos Castaneda

#8

“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… Look at every path closely and deliberately. Try it as many times as you think necessary. Then ask yourself alone, one question… Does this path have a heart? If it does, the path is good; if it doesn’t it is of no use.” – Carlos Castaneda

#9

“You have everything needed for the extravagant journey that is your life.” – Carlos Castaneda

#10

“For me, the world is weird because it is stupendous, awesome, mysterious, unfathomable; my interest has been to convince you that you must assume responsibility for being here, in this marvelous world, in this marvelous desert, in this marvelous time. I want to convince you that you must learn to make every act count, since you are going to be here for only a short while, in fact, too short for witnessing all the marvels of it.” – Carlos Castaneda

#11

“Forget the self and you will fear nothing, in whatever level of awareness you find yourself to be.” – Carlos Castaneda

#12

“I have no routines or personal history. One day I found out that they were no longer necessary for me and, like drinking, I dropped them. One must have the desire to drop them and then one must proceed harmoniously to chop them off, little by little. If you have no personal history, no explanations are needed; nobody is angry or disillusioned with your acts. And above all, no one pins you down with their thoughts. It is best to erase all personal history because that makes us free from the encumbering thoughts of other people. I have, little by little, created a fog around me and my life. And now nobody knows for sure who I am or what I do. Not even I. How can I know who I am, when I am all this?” – Carlos Castaneda

#13

“The average man is hooked to his fellow men, while the warrior is hooked only to infinity.” – Carlos Castaneda

#14

“The internal dialogue is what grounds people in the daily world. The world is such and such or so and so, only because we talk to ourselves about its being such and such and so and so. The passageway into the world of shamans opens up after the warrior has learned to shut off his internal dialogue.” – Carlos Castaneda

#15

“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

#16

“The world is incomprehensible. We won’t ever understand it; we won’t ever unravel its secrets. Thus we must treat the world as it is: a sheer mystery.” – Carlos Castaneda

#17

“To worry is to become accessible, unwittingly accessible. And once you worry you cling to anything out of desperation; and once you cling you are bound to get exhausted or to exhaust whoever or whatever you are clinging to.” – Carlos Castaneda

#18

“In the universe, there is an un-measurable, indescribable force which sorcerers call intent, and absolutely everything that exists in the entire cosmos is attached to intent by a connecting link. Sorcerers, or warriors, were concerned with discussing, understanding, and employing that connecting link…Sorcerers, therefore, divide their instruction into two categories; one is for everyday-life state of awareness, the other is for the states of heightened awareness, in which sorcerers obtained knowledge directly from intent, without the distracting intervention of spoken language.” – Carlos Castaneda

#19

“The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same.” – Carlos Castaneda

#20

“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

#21

“Upon learning to see a man becomes everything by becoming nothing. He, so to speak, vanishes and yet he’s there. I would say that this is the time when a man can be or can get anything he desires. But he desires nothing, and instead of playing with his fellow men like they were toys, he meets them in the midst of their folly. The only difference between them is that a man who sees controls his folly, while his fellow men can’t. A man who sees has no longer an active interest in his fellow men. Seeing has already detached him from absolutely everything he knew before.” – Carlos Castaneda

#22

“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

#23

“My benefactor told me that my father and mother had lived and died just to have me and that their own parents had done the same for them. He said that warriors were different in that they shift their assemblage points enough to realize the tremendous price that has been paid for their lives. This shift gives them the respect and awe that their parents never felt for life in general, or for being alive in particular.” – Carlos Castaneda

#24

“There is no beginning, the beginning is only in your thought.” – Carlos Castaneda

#25

“What makes us unhappy is to want. Yet if we would learn to cut our wants to nothing, the smallest thing we’d get would be a true gift.” – Carlos Castaneda

#26

“A man of knowledge has no honor, no dignity, no family, no name, no country, but only life to be lived, and under these circumstances, his only tie to his fellow men is his controlled folly.” – Carlos Castaneda

#27

“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

#28

“You take yourself too seriously, ” he said slowly. “You are too damn important in your own mind. That must be changed! You are so goddamn important that you feel justified to be annoyed with everything. You’re so damn important that you can afford to leave if things don’t go your way. I suppose you think that shows you have character. That’s nonsense! You’re weak and conceited!” – Dom Juan” – Carlos Castaneda

#29

“Nobody is born a warrior in exactly the same way that no one is born an average man”. – Carlos Castaneda

#30

“He said that I was a man. And like any man I deserved everything that was a man’s lot – joy, pain, sadness, and struggle – and that the nature of one’s acts was unimportant as long as one acted as a warrior. Lowering his voice to almost a whisper, he said that if I really felt that my spirit was distorted I should simply fix it – purge it, make it perfect – because there was no other task in our entire lives which was more worthwhile. Not to fix the spirit was to seek death, and that was the same as to seek nothing since death was going to overtake us regardless of anything. He paused for a long time and then he said with a tone of profound conviction, “To seek the perfection of the warrior’s spirit is the only task worthy of our manhood.” – Carlos Castaneda

When we are starting the process of self-transformation, it is important to do it comprehensively on three levels: physical, energetic and consciousness level. It is really important to understand that all three aspects are interrelated. For example, energy problems enslave the physical body and affect our consciousness. Mantra yoga is a very effective unique tool for self-transformation on all three levels.

In this article, I’ll share with you what mantra yoga is, what are its benefits, and give you some tips on how to start your practice.

How Does Mantra Help Our Self-Transformation?

As I already said, mantra is a unique yoga tool that affects three levels at once: body, energy, and consciousness. It was empirically proved that the sounds of Sanskrit have healing power, that is, the very sound of the mantra heals the body.

Mantra also contains energy, which gets into resonance with your body when you’re chanting mantras. And the influence of the mantra on our consciousness is due to a simple principle: “we become what we concentrate on.”

Everyday people concentrate on what is important to them. But, unfortunately, usually, it is a concentration on something negative. Thus, we all have concentration skills, we just need to learn how to use this concentration correctly. And it is mantra yoga that allows us to learn this skill.

What Is Mantra?

Mantra is not just a random set of unintelligible sounds in an unknown language. Each mantra contains sacred energy that is coded into the sound.

Most often, mantra does not have a specific and single translation. Thus, the practitioner must find out the meaning of the mantra he/she is practicing. And the level and depth of this understanding always align with the level of self-transformation in the process of practice.

For each practitioner, the meaning of the same mantra can be slightly different, due to individual karma and level of transformation.

By concentrating on mantra, its meaning, and thinking about it, we transform our personality. As I already said – we become what we are focused on!

Thus, by concentrating on the mantra that is associated with a particular deity, we concentrate on the energy and qualities of that deity. This energy will come into our lives, and the qualities of the deity will become our own qualities. By concentrating on something energetically pure, we purify ourselves. Or by concentrating on something great, we cultivate the best qualities of our soul.

For example, by concentrating on Shiva mantra, we adopt the qualities of Lord Shiva.

Varieties of Mantras In Mantra Yoga

All mantras were received by the ancient sages in a state of superconsciousness or expanded consciousness with a specific purpose. Depending on the purpose, mantras can be divided into three groups:

1.Liberation Mantras

The essence of these mantras is the liberation of the mind from the limitations of the human form and the ultimate liberation.

Liberation mantras are safe and can be practiced by everyone. Their intention promotes the evolution of the Universe and self-transformation. These mantras do not have any selfish material goals based on greed.

2. Blessing Mantras

The essence of these mantras is to bring prosperity and fulfillment of various desires into everyday life.

Blessing mantras work with certain energies, both the energies of saints, deities and the energies of various spirits.

3. Healing Mantras

These mantras are aimed at healing specific diseases.

Different Ways to Practice Mantra Yoga

#1 Mantra Chanting

The most common way to practice mantra yoga is by actually chanting the mantra. And it is quite a powerful tool for cleansing our mind and our aura of the negative energy. Mantra chanting allows us to clear our subconscious mind of destructive attitudes that each of us has. This practice changes our energy. If by practicing asanas we can transform our energy in 1-2 hours, then by mantra chanting the same result can be achieved in 15-30 minutes.

#2 Mantra Concentration

Another way to practice mantra yoga is meditation with a concentration on a mantra. Concentration on the mantra energy will help you to enter into resonance with the energy of the mantra. Regular practice of such meditation will allow you to maintain energy at the proper level.

#3 Mantra Chanting Combined With Pranayama

You can also chant mantras while practicing pranayama.

For example, the mantra “Soham” is often used in pranayama practice. Listen to your breath, it involuntarily utters the sound of “So” on the inhale and “ham-m-m” on the exhale.

#4 Integrating Mantra Into Your Regular Life

You can turn your whole life into a permanent practice of mantra yoga. To do this, you need to constantly keep the mantra of your choice in mind. Repeat it to yourself, thinking and delving into its meaning, trying to comprehend it not only on an intellectual but also on a spiritual level.

Our mind often clings to the objects of the outside world. By being attached to them, it is drawn into an endless thought process that makes us not only waste energy but often concentrate on negative things. The constant repetition of the mantra will allow us to occupy our restless mind with a concentration on the higher vibrations.

#5 OM Mantra Practice

It is believed that if a person has accumulated experience in the practice of the mantra “Om” during this life, then full concentration on this mantra at the moment of leaving the physical body will allow him/her to be reborn in the higher worlds, even despite the presence of negative karma.

Even in the moment of death the principle “we become what we concentrate on” works. And if a person concentrates on the divine sound of the mantra “Om”, from which our entire Universe once arose, then his consciousness at this moment resonates with the divine energy and acquires divine qualities.

Reincarnation is based on the principle of “we always attract what we radiate”. Therefore after death, a person will be incarnated into a world that corresponds to the qualities of his/her consciousness at the time of death. That is why people who have the divine qualities of consciousness, can incarnate into Higher Worlds.

Moreover, since at the moment of death there is a natural dis-identification of consciousness with the mind and body, then with the proper level of awareness and experience in mantra yoga practice it is possible at this very moment to achieve the state of Buddha and liberate yourself from the cycle of rebirth.

Thus, the practice of mantra yoga not only allows us to transform our consciousness during our current life but also can contribute to an adequate transformation, which is equally important.

Mantra Yoga And Purity of Mind

It is also worth considering that mantra practice requires a certain purity of mind and the ability to concentrate. At the beginning of the practice of mastering the art of mantra yoga, mantra is used as a means of bringing the mind into balance by concentrating on the pronounced combination of sounds.

You basically concentrate on mantra chanting, discarding all other thoughts, and creating certain vibrations that change your mindset. This practice clears your mind from unnecessary thoughts.

When Will Mantra Start To Work?

When there is no resistance to the process, and the repetition of the mantra does not require effort, the practitioner goes to the silent repetition of the mantra, which reveals its true essence – the understanding of the intellectual level, and direct knowledge.

Mantra begins to change your physical reality (to cure diseases, change the course of things, etc.) when you start to maintain a proper life and develop certain qualities that resonate with the vibrations with the mantra you practice (such as compassion, unconditional love, etc.).

How To Make Words Powerful?

You have to understand that in order to see real results from your mantra practice your word should gain strength. What does it mean? You see, unfortunately, most people don’t pay too much attention to what they say. Therefore, their words lose their power to manifest reality.

Therefore, it is very important to always follow your word, say what you think, fulfill promises, tell the truth. You basically need to align your feelings, thoughts, and actions.

In order for the power of the word to become unshakable, it is also very important to remain in the silence of the mind, to be free from attachments and emotions, not to be attached to the results of your actions and to be responsible for every word you speak.

The purer your mind, the less chaotic your thoughts, the better the ability to concentrate on one thing, and the more powerful your mantra practice becomes.

The Bottom Line

The miraculous effect of the mantra lies not so much in the right combination of words, intonation, melody, and rhythm as in faith itself. And faith comes from the alignment of the mind with the Universe, God, Tradition, Teacher, or all together. When faith becomes an axiom, then the mantra begins to work.

Do you ever find yourself relating to a stranger’s flow of emotions as if they were your own? Better still, do people or even animals show instant trust in you? Then, you could be a psychic empath.

Psychic empaths are persons who are extremely sensitive to the energy surrounding them.

Consequently, they pick up feelings in their surrounding and experience them. If you suspect that you are a psychic empath, use this checklist to confirm. But first, how many types of psychic empaths are there?

Types of Psychic Empaths

There are at least 8 types of psychic empaths in the world today.

• The emotional empaths who absorb all kinds of feelings around them
• Physical empaths who sense the physical pain of other people 
• Intellectual empaths use difficult languages and terms with ease 
• Intuitive empath who quickly sense things before they happen
• Animal empath with the ability to connect with animals
• Plant empaths who love and are highly aware of plants and trees
• Environmental empaths with a strong sense of physical space
• Finally, spiritual empaths who easily connect to spiritual realms

11 Signs You Are a Psychic Empath

You Have a Strong Sixth Sense

Are your instincts always on point? Do you find too many coincidences about what you are thinking about or what is happening?  Can you sense when something unpleasant is about to happen? Does a sudden change of weather put you down? All these are signs of an intuitive psychic empath.

These psychic empaths can sense what the future has in store for their loved ones and their surroundings. They get this insight through dreams and premonitions. However, you must determine whether this information will benefit the other person before sharing it with them.

Extremely Sensitive

Were you always the sensitive one in your family or circle of friends for as long as you can remember? Alternatively, are you the peacemaker in your home? Psychic empaths will often prefer calmness over any uneasy situations. Because of this, they often get requests to mediate between people who are angry at each other.

If you are a psychic empath, your friends and colleagues find it easy to approach you when they are going through an emotional challenge in their lives.

Hate Negativity

Do you get migraines when people around you are shouting at each other? Are you a people pleaser? Does the thought of rejection by a close person make you nervous? The negative energy around them disturbs a psychic empath.

Besides, some even develop physical symptoms such as migraines, stomach upsets, and shivering at the thought of the negativity around them. They, therefore, tend to give in to suggestions just to make peace, even though these suggestions could cost them individually.

Can’t Stand Crowds

When psychic empaths attend a sports event, for example, they always check their watches until the game ends. If the thought of going to the shopping mall or concert overwhelms you, you could be a psychic empath.

You mostly feel suffocated when you are in such places. Instead, you prefer watching a game at the comfort of your living room.

You Can’t Stand Physical Pain

Do you fear shots? A psychic empathy tends to feel pain more than an average person would. The thought of someone else in hospital or with an injury is enough to make them sick. If your doctor gets surprised at how bad you deal with a rather painless medical procedure, you could be a psychic empath.

On another note, a psychic empath tends to have strong side effects to medication. You may find for example, that when you drink coffee in the evening, you end up staying awake all night. Or, if a drug’s side effect is drowsiness, you tend to be drowsy for longer than expected. 

You Fear Negative News

One of the signs of a psychic empath is the constant attraction to those who are suffering but at the same time fearing the sight of negative scenes. Therefore, psychic empaths have a constant personal battle. On one hand, they feel compelled to help those in need.  But, at the same time, they are disturbed by images of past tragic events.

You Can Tell If Someone Is Sincere

Do you have a close friend or relative who will always pick out the truths from the lies and you wonder how they did it? It is almost impossible to lie to a psychic empath. Just by looking at you and listening to your tone of voice, a psychic empath can tell whether you are sincere or not.

Everyone Dumps Their Problems on You

Psychic empaths are like emotional sponges. They take up most of the energies around them, whether positive or negative. In turn, other people find psychic empaths to be welcoming. They find it soothing sharing their lifestyle challenges and failures with them.

In response, an empath will never say no to such persons. They tend to take people’s worries and anxieties. Eventually, they also suffer.

You Get Tired Easily

Have you ever woken up in the morning feeling tired? Do other people call you lazy yet you know you are not lazy? As you absorb negative energy and have your positive aura drained from you, your subconscious mind works tirelessly to process all this.

If you find yourself worn out for no apparent reason, you need to take some time off, away from the surrounding that drains you. Visit a quiet, peaceful place to re-energize yourself.

You Have a Passion for Creative Arts

Do you find yourself writing fiction, enjoying fine arts, or any other creative hobbies? A psychic empath is rich with a wealth of inner self. In turn, they tend to pour out this creativity using creative hobbies as outlets.

You may find yourself more inclined to spending time at natural parks or having many pets. All these are your avenues of expressing the intense emotions you have inside of you.

Poor in Multi-Tasking

If you find that you can only handle one or two tasks at a time, you could be a psychic empath. Psychic empaths tend to get overwhelmed by the demands of many duties. They experience an emotional imbalance that manifests in the form of mood swings or tantrums.

Conclusion

Do you suspect that you are a psychic empath? How many of the above signs do you possess?  It is vital that you identify your personality early. Once you do so, you can make conscious decisions to keep your emotions under control. Do this by avoiding negative energies. Instead, surround yourself with people and things that enrich and re-energize you.