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)
It’s Your Fault That You Feel Bad! February 14, 2007
Posted by The Probabilist in : [Articles], Consciousness, Emotions, Gratitude, Personal Growth, Psychology, Beliefs , 2 comments
It’s your fault that your inconsiderate boss irritates you. It’s your fault that you felt sad and abandoned when your girl/boyfriend left you. It’s your fault that you get angry in traffic jams. It’s your fault that you feel hurt about what others say to you. It’s your fault that you get depressed when you are diagnosed with cancer.
And yes, it’s all your fault that you feel offended and shocked about what you’re reading right now.
Nobody likes to get told that their thinking is wrong. Nobody likes to tell themselves that their thinking is wrong. And here I am doing exactly these two things in hopes that you break free from the internal chains of your own faulty mind. A snowball’s chance in hell, right?
It’s time for you to take control over your emotions. However, there is only one way of doing so and it starts with this revelation - that it’s your fault that you feel negative emotions inside of you. You want proof? The proof is inside you and it looks like you needed somebody to remind you of it. Yes, it’s time for you to stop playing the blame game and take full responsibility over what goes on inside your mind. And when you do so, the truth will set you free and give you unlimited power to create whatever state of mind you wish.
The first step is the most difficult one and it is exactly what I’m talking about here. Many people live their whole lives never truly getting it. Which means that you can consider yourself a very fortunate and happy person if you have already internalized what I want you to tell yourself.
Here’s the thing. No circumstance has the power to create, change, manipulate or control your emotions. No other human being has the power to create, change, manipulate or control your emotions. I can not control what you’re feeling right now, thousands of miles away in the form of digital bits that show up as a pixels on your screen that make up this text you’re reading. And neither can anyone you know either, no matter in what form they are communicating with you. If you think this statement is false, then you’re bound to live the life of a drone, walking around blaming the universe for your emotions. That doesn’t sound like a good fate for you now does it?
And oh my goodness what a liberating moment it is for you once you truly realize this!
Because the second and last step is simply choosing for yourself what kind of emotions you’ll start feeling. You are the unbeatable master of your own reality! You create, change, manipulate and control whatever you choose to feel. And if you’ve gone this far, I assume you’re a person smart enough to choose positive emotions from now on.
You realize how happy you are for not being as inconsiderate as your boss is. You feel good about your partner leaving you because it proves you that it wasn’t meant to be. You feel calm when you realize that you can’t control traffic. You understand that it’s your own level of self-esteem that defines how other people’s words affect you. You feel humbled about getting cancer because it teaches you to appreciate life and gives you the greatest challenge you’ve ever faced.
And yes, you feel good about what you’re reading right now because you internalize that I’m writing this to set you free - not to mock your thought patterns.
Are you still blaming external sources for what you feel or are you starting to realize how powerful your mind truly is in creating your own reality?
(4 votes, average: 4.75 out of 5)
