Wisdom from The Peaceful Warrior about our Transformation

The work of Dan Millman is very powerful for assisting a person in transforming his or her life.  In my work as a counselor I introduce all of the clients to “The Way of the Peaceful Warrior” both as a book and as the movie. The movie and book are about a person who learns about never giving up and in the process begins a process of transforming his life. The process is about becoming present to that which a person was not present to, to certain distinctions that once considered began to alter his life forever.

Below are listed some of the important distinctions that are presented in the movie and book.

1. Knowledge and wisdom.  Knowledge is knowing something and Wisdom is doing it. Knowing what transformation is about is one thing and having wisdom is to practice it everyday life.

2. Highest purpose is for us to be of service to others.  Assisting other human beings is part of the process of transformation.

3. “Take out the trash”. A person’s Trash is the thoughts in your mind that keeps you out of the moment. The work of the Warrior is to practice letting go of the Trash in ones mind in order to keep you fully in the moment and as a result engaged in the process of transformation.

4. We are afraid of what is inside. The only place to find what you need is inside you. The experience of fear/being scared is about being empty. The work of the Warrior is to go inside and face ones fear directly, to not run from it.

5. Are you paying attention to your life? Are you present to what is going on, to what you are experiencing now.

6. What are you holding onto that keeps you stuck in life.  Who are you without your problems and issues? Practice of letting go of what you are holding onto that keeps you stuck. Give up your attachments to people, place and things that hinder your transformation and keep you enslaved to the past.

7. “Not knowing” is the first principle of a Warrior. Getting this allows one to be and remain teachable, open to learning.  Practice “not knowing” when you are out in life.

8. There are no ordinary moments. There is always something going on. Pay attention to the present or now. Getting that there are no ordinary moments and that there is always something going on keeps us completely grounded in the present, in the Now. When we get this we experience that all moments are extraordinary.

9. Give up the Good-Bad, Right-Wrong way of thinking about yourself and others. Making wrong and passing judgment will only hinder your transformation. The work is about acceptance, acceptance of self and others.

10. Happiness is about your journey and not the destination. Staying focused on the journey allows you to stay in transformation, staying focused on the destination will only create the space for you to get out of your transformation.

The work of a Warrior is to live the distinctions presented, to bring them forth in ones life, to fully practice wisdom. Implementation of the distinctions will result in one being fully accountable and responsible for his or her life. The work of a Warrior is about being fully present in the now, moment and life, that that is who we truly are.  Living the distinctions will take ones transformation to a new dimension.

What time is it? Now.

Where are you? Here.

Who are you? This moment.

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The Power of Witnessing a Passing

Last thursday I had the honor of witnessing the passing of someone very dear to me.  Last thursday my mother passed and I able to witness it.  I was there to watch her pass, to watch her take her last breath.  An extraordinary woman who gave birth to me, who watched me take my first breath, I was given the honor of watching her take her last.  For someone that I never imagined would pass, she did.

One of the things that I again became present to is the notion of impermanence. As Dan Milman once wrote in The Way of the Peaceful Warrior, everything changes, nothing stays the same.  We sometimes believe and act as if we will live forever. We do not really get that change is the only constant, that we too will change physically and eventually pass.  We enhance the power of our being by getting that life is fragile and that we need to live it from the notion that our life will eventually go out of existence, that we too will pass.

When we live life from the perspective of impermanence we act and behave differently.  For me it is about being of service, of creating for the benefit of others, to do for others in order to enhance their life.  I know that I too will eventually pass.  Until then my life will be about service to others.

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