Carlos Castenada

Everything we do, everything we are, rests on our personal power. If we have enough of it, one word is enough to change the course of our lives. If we don't, the most magnificent piece of wisdom can be revealed to us and that revelation won't make a damn bit of difference. Do you know that at this very moment you are surrounded by eternity? And do you know you can use that eternity, if you so desire? Do you know that you can extend yourself forever in any direction and use it to take the totality of yourself forever in any direction? Do you know that one moment can be eternity? If you had enough personal power, my words alone would serve as a means to round up the totality of yourself and get to the crucial part of it out of the boundaries in which it is contained.

From 'Tales of Power' 

The above is the only book I have left of the series written by Carlos Castaneda. It is beaten up, to be sure, and the cover was destroyed years ago. For some reason, this is the one I couldn't let go.  Castaneda died of liver cancer in 1999, but in the 60's, he was 'the man', the 'godfather of the New Age.' I guess perhaps it might be a reminder of my youth. I came of age with the  teachings of this man.

I was in my 20's and working at an answering service during the evening hours.  By 7 pm the place quieted down and we all brought out  our books and whatever else we had to occupy our time. There was a young woman who worked there. We always seemed to grab the boards next to each other. I remember her name was Adriane, and she was very deep into Castenada's teachings. She was such a believer. At the time, I was very much into the Rosicrucians and was taking both their astrology and philosophy course, but the covers on Adriane's books looked so inviting. She began to talk to me about his teachings, and before I knew it, I was reading his books right along with her.

They now say that his writings were a hoax.  Well, I knew they were all along. I read his books not because I believed his far-fetched tales, but because I liked some of the things he had to say.  His words were meaningful. Judge for yourself.

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

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

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.

Things don't change. You change your way of looking, that's all.

As long as a man feels that he is the most important thing in
the world, he cannot really appreciate the world around him. He is
like a horse with blinders; all he sees is himself, apart from
everything else.

What we need to do to allow magic to get hold of us is to
banish doubts from our minds. Once doubts are banished anything is
possible.