Way of the Peaceful Warrior February 19, 2007
Posted by The Probabilist in : [Books], Consciousness, Exercise, Gratitude, Goals, Personal Growth, Philosophy, Purpose , 7 comments
Dan Millman’s Way of the Peaceful Warrior is the first book I’ve read this year that can be labeled as fiction. First published in the early 80s it’s a autobiographical novel blending in the author’s own experiences as well as fiction to remind us of life’s greater purpose and possibilities.
It is the story of Dan, a young gymnast moving to San Francisco for University studies and starting life on his own in ways he could not have imagined. Although very successful in acrobatics, his overall life does not offer any remarkable and memorable moments. Instead, he only seems to find some degree of peace and satisfaction from his training while all the rest is just blending in with indifference, mediocrity and unawareness of what awaits him.
Troubled by a reoccurring dream, he takes off into the night and stops by a 24/7 gas station where he meets an old, but swift man whose words and answers perplex and frustrate Dan. Still quite intrigued of the man’s behaviour, he decides to return to the gas station each night to find out why the old man seems to be the one in his dreams and why he constantly manages to outwit and outperform Dan who is three, four times younger than him.
Slowly but steadily Dan begins to listen to the man’s teachings, whom he calls by the name Socrates. Dan’s gymnast career seems to come to an end when he severely injures his foot, but given the newly awakened spirit, he starts to push his limits to not only start exercising his athletic abilities again, but also to become a master of life and unreasonable happiness. The path of the peaceful warrior doesn’t appear easily, quickly or rationally, and Dan gets to live through quite a number of demanding tasks and tests in order to reach his ultimate calling and be who he is meant to be.
There’s a great message to be found in this book and I enjoyed every page of it. As the tagline goes “A book that changes lives”, I’m inclined to agree with that statement and also recommend this book to anyone of any age. It speaks of the course and meaning of life, how we should relate to different occurrences in our lives and how to face the inevitable destiny we all have to one day. Get your own copy and find out if your level of consciousness is in balance with the way of the peaceful warrior.
(3 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5)
Creative Visualization February 7, 2007
Posted by The Probabilist in : [Books], Consciousness, Creativity, Gratitude, Goals, Psychology, Purpose, Relationships, Beliefs, Vision, Abilities , 3 comments
Shakti Gawain’s Creative Visualization is more than the title indicates. In fact, how to visualize something in order to create what you desire is very briefly explained. The biggest portion delves into the different kinds of things you can accomplish or have in your life, what inner beliefs may be rooted in you that block you from using your creative power of the law of attraction, and also how to reach a meditative state that serves as the best way to have creative visualization work for you.
My own interpretation and what I thought of the book is that it’s 50 % about creative visualization and another 50 % of personal psychology and life lessons that help you to lead a more fulfilled life. To understand the power of intention-manifestation and have it work well, you need to first work on your inner beliefs of what you rightfully deserve, why your natural state is that of joy, prosperity and self-worth, and what the power of your own mind really includes and controls.
The richness found in the book is the many methods that aid and complete the art of successful creative visualization. Among them are meditation, using several senses to visualize, affirmations, the link to spirituality, acceptance, healing, energy flow and centers, sanctuary, invocations, writing a notebook, clearing, goal-setting, idealizing, treasure maps and creative visualization within relationships and groups.
I found it very interesting how much in common there is to this book and what I have been writing about in this blog. There’s the question of what you want, do or are, how the beliefs about yourself are more important than what others think of you, why prosperity is your birthright and how to use a positive attitude to get what you want in life instead of perpetuating what you don’t like about yourself and your circumstances.
Creative visualization has been in the bookstores for quite some time already and I can see that it has had quite an impact in the teachings of many great personal development coaches of today. My copy is a 25th anniversary edition and it also includes some examples of what kind of results the technique has manifested. This book is a worthwhile read and daily reference to visualization to anyone who isn’t yet totally satisfied with how their life has turned out or who don’t enjoy every minute of it.
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