The Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives

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That is the point. You cannot answer it, and you never will. There is no knowing about it. You are ignorant of where the universe is, and thus, where you are. In fact, you have no knowledge of where anything is or of What anything is or how is came to be. Life is a mystery. And I felt a growing power, a wave of fury at all those who said I'd never perform again. My passion turned to icy calm. There, in that moment, my fate and future seemed in balance. My mind cleared. My emotions surged with power. Do or die. Further still, beware your own expectations. The expectations we place upon ourselves can be far more stringent than we expect of others.

I did find myself HOPING that some aspect of enlightenment or simple truth would be revealed to me , reminding me of my general unhappiness. To that end we need to examine our minds, question our conclusions, and seek out new ways and methods. Surrender Of course not." He laughed. "Words mean little unless you realize the truth of it yourself. And when you do, you'll be free at last.” Because we focus our awareness on our mind we live in a state of reaction to the mind's thoughts. Our behaviour becomes nothing but habit. Someone dies and we cry, we agree to the expectations of others and we feel stressed, our business goes under and we feel depressed, someone makes a joke and we laugh, someone gives us a gift and we are grateful. Both the "good" and "bad" behaviours are reactions. They are habits. Our heads get caught up the regrets of the past and worries about the future. To be happy is to realise that there is no other place but now.He seemed to put down his education and reading and put more faith in the physical.. his vegetarian diet , meditation , tai chi , gymnastics and running ... I agree a good diet and good exercise is essential to a happy body/mind but there was just too much emphasis on it. The old man , almost died trying to duplicate the phsicality of his young student. Therefore the way of the warrior has a lot to do with cultivating energy and living a healthy lifestyle. How are you going to act on what you know if you have no energy? If you have enough money to satisfy your desires, Dan, you are rich. But there are two ways to be rich: You can earn, inherit, borrow, beg, or steal enough money to meet expensive desires; or, you can cultivate a simple lifestyle of few desires; that way you always have more than enough money. A peaceful warrior has the insight and discipline to choose the simple way—to know the difference between needs and wants. We have a few basic needs but endless wants. Full attention to every moment is my pleasure. Attention costs no money; your only investment is training. That’s another advantage of being a warrior—it’s cheaper! The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.” The author of this book was an affluent white man and a talented, successful athlete. You don't get to forget these facts. The entire book is one big humble-brag under the guise of finding enlightenment that requires him to give up his amazing life. [And now he makes tons of money selling books that preach this philosophy. Totally hypocritical.]

This review is for my personal journal not for you to read so feel free not to read this : These are more rambling notes and observations for me to reflect on in the future. Nonetheless, the old-man keeps Dan at a distance, by telling him to start looking answers somewhere else for the time being. But when you are instead aware of only the present moment, you remove yourself being reactive to situations. Instead, from a place of emptiness, you can now choose your behaviour. You can be truly spontaneous only when your behaviour has become a choice.The brain can be a tool. It can recall phone numbers, solve math puzzles, or create poetry. In this way, it works for the rest of the body, like a tractor. But when you can’t stop thinking of that math problem or phone number, or when troubling thoughts and memories arise without your intent, it’s not your brain working, but your mind wandering. Then the mind controls you; then the tractor has run wild.”