In "Power of Silence," Carlos Castaneda explores the idea that every person faces unique barriers that prevent them from attaining true knowledge and understanding. These obstacles are often deeply personal and vary from one individual to another. They can stem from one's own perceptions, beliefs, and behaviors, which form a sort of personal prison.

Castaneda suggests that one of the strongest barriers is the tendency to mask complacency as independence. This highlights a common human tendency to confuse self-sufficiency with genuine understanding, implying that many may be hindered in their quest for deeper truths by a false sense of autonomy that stems from their own comfort zones.