The Power of Silence Quotes

“We don’t need anyone to teach us sorcery, because there is really nothing to learn. What we need is a teacher to convince us that there is incalculable power at our fingertips. What a strange paradox!”
― Carlos Castaneda, Power of Silence

“What distinguishes normal people is that we share a metaphorical dagger; the concerns of our self - reflection. With this dagger, we cut ourselves and bleed; and the job of our chains of self - reflection is to give us the feeling that we are bleeding together, that we are sharing something wonderful; our humanity. But if we were to examine it, we would discover that we are bleeding alone; that we are not sharing anything; that all we are doing is toying with our manageable, unreal, man-made reflection. Sorcerers are no longer in the world of daily affairs, because they are no longer prey to their self - reflection.”
― Carlos Castaneda, The Power of Silence: Further Lessons of don Juan

“The aim of sorcerers is to reach a state of total awareness in order to experience all the possibilities of perception available to man. This state of awareness even implies an alternative way of dying.”
― Carlos Castaneda, The Power of Silence: Further Lessons of don Juan

“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, The Power of Silence: Further Lessons of don Juan

“Warriors are incapable of feeling compassion because they no longer feel sorry for themselves. Without the driving force of self-pity, compassion is meaningless.”
― Carlos Castaneda, The Power of Silence: Further Lessons of don Juan

“It isn't that as time goes by you're learning sorcery; rather, what you're learning is to save energy. And this energy will enable you to handle some of the energy fields that are not employed in perceiving the ordinary world we know. Sorcery is a state of awareness.”
― Carlos Castaneda, The Power of Silence: Further Lessons of don Juan

“abruptly pulled over to the side of the road. And right there I had, for the first time in my life, a clear knowledge of a dualism in me. Two obviously separate parts were within my being. One was extremely old, at ease, indifferent. It was heavy, dark, and connected to everything else. It was the part of me that did not care, because it was equal to anything. It enjoyed things with no expectation. The other part was light, new, fluffy, agitated. It was nervous, fast. It cared about itself because it was insecure and did not enjoy anything, simply because it lacked the capacity to connect itself to anything. It was alone, on the surface, vulnerable. That was the part with which I looked at the world.”
― Carlos Castaneda, Power of Silence

“he defined stalking as the art of using behavior in novel ways for specific purposes. He said that normal human behavior in the world of everyday life was routine. Any behavior that broke from routine caused an unusual effect on our total being. That unusual effect was what sorcerers sought, because it was cumulative.”
― Carlos Castaneda, Power of Silence

“permission.” “I have to ask your permission,” don Juan said, “because you’re the only one who can allow the words pent up inside you to be tapped. I think I made the mistake of assuming you understand more than you do. Words are tremendously powerful and important and are the magical property of whoever has them.”
― Carlos Castaneda, Power of Silence

“Πρώτα από όλα θα θελα να πω ότι όσα κάνω για σένα είναι τσάμπα. Δεν χρειάζεται να πληρώσεις. Όπως ξέρεις, υπήρξα άψογος μαζί σου και όπως ξέρεις, επίσης αυτό δεν έχει καμία σχέση με τις δικές μου επενδύσεις. Παίρνω όμως κάτι ανυπολόγιστης αξίας από τη σχέση μας, ένα είδος ανταμοιβής που φέρομαι άψογα. Και αυτό που παίρνω είναι εκείνο ακριβώς το πράγμα που δεν θα καταλάβεις ή δεν θα σ αρέσει. Αν με κρίνεις σύμφωνα με τις πράξεις μου σε σχέση με σένα, θα πρέπει να παραδεχτείς ότι υπήρξα ένα υπόδειγμα υπομονής και συνέπειας. Εκείνο όμως που δεν ξέρεις είναι ότι για να το καταφέρω αυτό πάλεψα για να μαι άψογος όπως δεν έχω παλέψει ποτέ στη ζωή μου. Για να περνώ το χρόνο μου μαζί σου, έπρεπε να μετασχηματίζω τον εαυτό μου σε καθημερινή βάση, περιοριζόμενος με συντριπτική προσπάθεια. Είσαι μικρόψυχος, σπάταλος, προκατειλημμένος, καταναγκαστικός, ανυπόμονος, ξιπασμένος. Είσαι δύστροπος, υπολογιστής και αγνώμων. Έχεις μια ανεξάντλητη ικανότητα να ευχαριστείς τον εαυτό σου και το χειρότερο απ όλα έχεις μια τρομερή ιδέα για τον εαυτό σου που δεν μαζεύεται με τίποτα. Θα μπορούσα να πω ειλικρινά ότι και η απλή σου παρουσία με κάνει να θέλω να ξεράσω. Οι λόγοι των πολεμιστών είναι πολύ απλοί, η λεπτότητά τους όμως είναι εξαιρετική. Είναι μια σπάνια ευκαιρία για έναν πολεμιστή να του δοθεί η ευκαιρία να είναι άψογος, ενάντια στα αισθήματά του. Εσύ μου έδωσες αυτή τη μοναδική ευκαιρία. Η πράξη του να προσφέρω ελεύθερα και άψογα με ανανεώνει και ανανεώνει και το ενδιαφέρον μου. Αυτά που παίρνω από τη σχέση μας έχουν πραγματικά ανυπολόγιστη αξία για μένα. Σου χρωστάω πολλά.»”
― Carlos Castaneda, The Power of Silence: Further Lessons of don Juan

“I said to don Juan that it was not generosity that made me give away the packages but cold fury. I had to do something to calm myself, and that was the first thing that occurred to me.
"But that's exactly what I've been telling you. Your generosity is not genuine," he retorted and began to laugh at my dismay.”
― Carlos Castañeda, The Power of Silence: Further Lessons of don Juan

“He remarked that each of us was barred from silent knowledge by natural barriers, specific to each individual; and that the most impregnable of my barriers was the drive to disguise my complacency as independence.”
― Carlos Castaneda, Power of Silence

“That is no metaphorical statement," he said. "I mean what I say. Big animals like that have the capacity to read thoughts. And I don't mean guess. I mean they know everything directly.”
― Carlos Castañeda, The Power of Silence: Further Lessons of don Juan