Anyone can try to become a man of knowledge; very few men actually succeed, but that is only natural. The enemies a man encounters on the path of learning to become a man of knowledge are truly formidable; most men succumb to them. – Don Juan, The Teachings of Don Juan

In The Teachings of Don Juan, don Juan discussed the four natural enemies with Castaneda. These, he explained, are fear, clarity, power, and old age. Moving through my life I have found that most warriors are able to overcome fear. They are committed to facing their fears, defying it, and eventually defeating it. In their new states of fearlessness they begin to explore new areas of awareness which brings them to a state of clarity.

Clarity, however, presents a deeper battle, one that sometimes stifles a warrior’s growth. As a warrior arrives to a state of clarity their growth may become halted because they come to believe that they have become expert seers with all the answers. This clarity, don Juan said, is hard to obtain but also blinds and prevents them from learning anything new as they impose their limited knowledge onto others through the belief that they have become powerful seers. They must come to understand that their clarity was merely a point before their eyes.

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