The Book of Manuals

(A selection based on texts by Carlos Castañeda, 1925-1998))

1. Behaviour. A man goes to knowledge as he goes to war: with fear, respect and absolute assurance. He should behave as if he knew where he was going, although, in fact, he has no idea what he will find; what matters is that he is following the path he chose.

2. Nothing to lose. A warrior considers that he is already dead. Since he has nothing to lose, he proceeds calmly and with heart. Fear no longer drains his energy, and he can apply that energy to living each moment as intensely as possible. The warrior is sure that he has in his hands all the tools he needs to face future difficulties, and it is the use of those tools, also known as experience, that will allow him to overcome obstacles.

3. Acting and knowing. A warrior is always a hunter. He thinks everything through and only acts after reflecting carefully on what he should do. No one can force him to do things he doesn’t want to do. He lives because he acts, and not because he thinks he is acting. Knowing that he will be in this world for only a brief period, he tries to experience all the world’s marvels. He speaks little, never thinks about fear, and takes responsibility for his actions.

4. Death as companion. A warrior-hunter knows that each decision could be his last. Death is his companion, always seated at his left side, at least a metre away. That is why he goes to the battlefield totally focussed on his life, knowing that most people go from action to action without really thinking about it.

5. All paths are the same. All paths are the same and lead nowhere. Therefore, the warrior chooses a path that has a life of its own, and from the moment he begins to follow that path, he feels glad and becomes the path. His decision to continue along it depends entirely on his happiness, not on his ambition or his fear. However, before he acts, he always asks himself: ‘Does this path have heart?’

6. Other people’s opinions. A warrior doesn’t waste precious time worrying about what other people think. He knows people who think they are important, and who, because of that, are fat, arrogant and unbending. For a warrior, the art of combat must be combined with lightness and a lack of tension and ambition. A warrior is kind to other people because, above all, he is kind to himself.

7. Intention. A man’s intention is not a thought or an object or a desire, but what makes him go forwards even when everyone is telling him he will be defeated or that his chosen course of action makes no sense. Having a clear intention helps the warrior to be invulnerable, to behave like a shaman, capable of walking through walls and touching the infinite.

8. The choice of path. Nothing in this world is given to us as a gift. The most important lessons are always learned with great effort and difficulty. With this in mind, the warrior-hunter never despairs or wastes his time blaming others, because he knows that whatever he does, he bears sole responsibility for his choices. A warrior cannot complain or have regrets: his life is a constant struggle, and the challenges he meets are neither good nor bad, they are merely challenges.

Manual for being accepted in society as a normal person

1. Accept anything that makes us forget our true identity and our dreams and obliges us to work solely in order to produce and reproduce.

2. Accept that it is possible to draw up rules for a war (the Geneva Convention).

3. Spend years studying at university and then fail to find a job.

4. Work from nine to five on something that gives you no pleasure, so that in thirty years’ time you can retire.

5. Retire, discover that you no longer have enough energy to enjoy life, and die after only a few years – of boredom.

6. Use botox.

7. Try to be financially successful rather than go looking for happiness.

8. Ridicule people who look for happiness rather than money, saying that he or she ‘lacks ambition’.

9. Compare objects such as cars, houses, clothes, and define your life according to those comparisons, instead of trying to find out why you’re alive.

10. Don’t talk to strangers.

11. Always believe that your parents are right.

12. Marry, have children, stay together even when love has died, saying that it’s for the good of the children (who, of course, barely notice the constant rows).

12a. Criticise anyone who tries to be different.

14. Wake up to a hysterical alarm clock every morning.

15. Believe everything you read.

16. Wear a piece of coloured cloth tied around your neck, which serves no obvious function, but which goes by the name of ‘tie’.

17. Never ask direct questions, even if the other person knows what it is you want to know.

18. Keep smiling even when you feel like bursting into tears. And feel sorry for all those who show their feelings.

19. Believe that art is either worth a fortune or worth nothing at all.

20. Always despise anything that was achieved too easily, because it did not involve the necessary sacrifice and therefore lacks the required qualities.