Feeling important makes one heavy, clumsy and vain. To be a warrior one needs to be light and fluid.
Carlos CastanedaRead
One cannot enter don Juan's world intellectually, like a dilettante seeking fast and fleeting knowledge. Nor, in don Juan's world, can anything be verified absolutely. The only thing we can do is arrive at a state of increased awareness that allows us to perceive the world around us in a more inclusive manner.
Interpretation
True understanding comes from deep awareness rather than superficial knowledge.
Carlos Castaneda's quote emphasizes that superficial knowledge is insufficient to truly comprehend the complexities of life, especially within the mystical realm of don Juan's teachings. Instead of seeking quick insights, one must cultivate a deeper awareness that enhances perception and broadens understanding, leading to a more holistic view of the world.
In practice
This quote could be used in a philosophical discussion about the limits of intellectualism.
Feeling important makes one heavy, clumsy and vain. To be a warrior one needs to be light and fluid.
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.
It doesn't matter what one reveals or what one keeps to oneself. Everything we do, everything we are, rests on our personal power. If we don't have enough personal power the most magnificent piece of wisdom can be revealed to us and it won't make a damn bit of difference.
Beware of those who weep with realization, for they have realized nothing.
All paths lead nowhere, so it is important to choose a path that has heart.
All paths are the same: they lead nowhere. However, a path without a heart is never enjoyable. On the other hand, a path with heart is easy - it does not make a warrior work at liking it; it makes for a joyful journey; as long as a man follows it, he is one with it.
The person who dumps garbage into your mind will do you considerably more harm than the person who dumps garbage on your floor, because each load of mind garbage negatively impacts your possibilities and lowers your expectations.
Someone asked the Swiss physician & author Paul Tournier how he helped his patients get rid of their fears. He replied, 'I don't. Everything that's worthwhile in life is scary. Choosing a school, choosing a career, getting married, having kids--all those things are scary. If it is not fearful, it is not worthwhile.'
The faster I write the better my output. If I'm going slow, I'm in trouble. It means I'm pushing the words instead of being pulled by them.
How often it is that a small action becomes great by its intention. And how often it is that a great action becomes small by its intention.
If you keep proving stuff that others have done, getting confidence, increasing the complexities of your solutions - for the fun of it - then one day you'll turn around and discover that nobody actually did that one!
Suppose you read about a pill that you could take once a day to reduce anxiety and increase your contentment. Would you take it? Suppose further that the pill has a great variety of side effects, all of them good: increased self-esteem, empathy, and trust; it even improves memory. Suppose, finally, that the pill is all natural and costs nothing. Now would you take it? The pill exists. It is meditation.
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