Part of the Casswiki article series Books
The Fire from Within is the seventh book by Carlos Castaneda, first published in 1984. The book introduces two important ideas: the “[petty tyrant](Petty tyrant)”, in Don Juan’s teaching that the seers of old learned to face the unknown by dealing with the petty tyrants of everyday life; and “stalking”, where a warrior exercises the virtues of control, discipline, forebearance, and timing towards the petty tyrants.
The book is Castaneda’s narrative about the struggle against self-importance in order to be able to face the “petty tyrants” of our lives. For, in esoteric strivings, becoming able to deal with ordinary life things is first priority, a basic necessity.
The book can be seen as a manual for external considering and impeccability.
Notable quotes
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”Think about it: what weakens us is feeling offended by the deeds and misdeeds of our fellow men. Our self-importance requires that we spend most of our lives offended by someone."
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"Petty tyrants take themselves with deadly seriousness while warriors do not. What usually exhausts us is the wear and tear on our self-importance. Any man who has an iota of pride is ripped apart by being made to feel worthless."
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"Self-importance can’t be fought with niceties."
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"A warrior knows that he is waiting and what he is waiting for. Right there is the great joy of warriorship.”