Before you become spiritual, you have to become a mature human.

I call myself a peaceful warrior because all the important battles are inside.

Let the ego die, but protect the body.

There are no ordinary moments.

Just keep your attention in the present moment....This is freedom from suffering, from fear.

It doesn't matter what you do, only how well you do it.

A long face will not heal the world. To live with joy in this world is an act of courage.

- Dan Millman

The theme of both our March and April newsletters is drawn from the work of Dan Millman, author of a series of books beginning with The Way of the Peaceful Warrior, first published in 1980, and ending with (at least for now) his most current book, Wisdom of the Peaceful Warrior, published in 2006. These books have also been brought to the big screen with the 2007 spiritual allegory, Peaceful Warrior.

I first read The Way of the Peaceful Warrior in 1980 and re-visited it this year when the film came out. Reading it again, from a place of increased maturity and expanded insight, I was struck - even more powerfully than I was the first time - with the breadth and depth of the teachings. I became passionate about integrating these teachings more into my own life and about sharing them with others.

The story involves a somewhat fictionalized and allegorical version of Dan Millman's chance encounter with a wise older man, whom he nicknamed Socrates and who became his spiritual mentor for several years, beginning with his college years at UC Berkeley in the 1960's.

In the March newsletter, we explored themes of knowledge, wisdom, purpose, courage, love, compassion, and awareness.

In this issue, we focus on some other aspects of the Peaceful Warrior Way:

• Paradox, Humor, and Change
• Happiness
• Taking Action
• Daily Life

If you missed the March Newsletter and would like to read Part 1 of this 2-part series, use the link below to reach our newsletter archive where you can download the March issue at no cost.

In Wisdom of the Peaceful Warrior, Dan Millman writes: Paradox, humor, and change - the three eternal truths on which Socrates founded his message and teachings. These three words summarize the state of the world, life, and the universe.

Paradox

Paradox, Millman writes, testifies to the cosmic fact that we live in a world of duality (light and darkness, good and evil) and speaks to the simultaneous existence of both.

Part of our job as spiritual warriors is to understand and accept this paradox. Without war, there could be no peace. Without sadness, no joy. Without challenge, no triumph. And so it goes. Think how out of balance our world would be if there were only sunlight and no darkness. Consider what our lives would be like if abundance of all kinds flowed freely to all, if everyone were handed everything on the proverbial silver platter. What would motivate us to work, to invent, to create, to do anything?

Humor

About this, Millman writes: Humor, in Soc's view, involves far more than jokes that provoke laughter. The humor to which he referred is divine humor, which flows from a transcendental perspective - not taking life or death, self or world, quite so seriously.

Engaging a sense of humor about oneself and others and about the state of the world means rising above one's ego and viewing things from a more detached place. It means pulling way back and getting real perspective on things, and understanding what is really important and what is not so important. It's about asking oneself, "Where does this situation fit in the grand scheme of things?" Imagine how much stress, anxiety, and angst could be dissipated when living life from this perspective!

Change

Change, Millman writes, is a law of reality.

Change is ever-present and inescapable. Every moment in time lasts for only a split second. Weather changes. Seasons change. Relationships change. Countries, borders, governments, leaders, laws, cultures, habitats, products, habits, customs, thoughts, bodies - everything you can think of changes. Some changes happen in the blink of an eye. Others take millenia. But everything changes. Yet notice how often we make ourselves miserable because we resist change. What changes have you been resisting lately? And how would your experience of these changes be transformed by letting go of your resistance to them? What would it be like to accept change as a given and go with the flow, as a peaceful warrior would?

On this point, Millman quotes the Buddha: Everything that begins also ends. Make peace with that and all will be well.

Towards the end of Dan's training with Socrates, his spiritual mentor, Soc says to him: "Wake up! If you knew for certain that you had a terminal illness - if you had little time left to live - you would waste precious little of it. Well, I'm telling you, Dan - you do have a terminal illness: It's called birth. You don't have more than a few years left. No one does! So be happy now, without reason - or you never will be at all."

Millman explains that living in a fairly constant state of happiness, joy, or bliss does not mean ignoring or denying ones feelings or the suffering of others. On the contrary, it means feeling the feelings and being very conscious and aware of what is happening around you in the moment, and still radiating a sense of peace and light to those around you. It means living in the moment - in the here and now - and responding to what is in front of you in the moment. So much of what makes us unhappy dwells either in the past or in the future. And, ultimately, happiness lies mainly in simple pleasures.

Socrates puts it this way to Dan: "The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less."

What do the Peaceful Warrior's Way, Coaching, and a famous Nike commercial all have in common?

If you guessed "Just Do It!", you are right!

Coaching is about setting goals and then taking action steps towards those goals. The Warrior's Way is also a way of action. After one is conscious and aware and has the knowledge and wisdom to know what must be done, the next step is to act on that knowledge and do it!

How many of us procrastinate? How many sit in the soup of knowledge, wisdom, insight, and intuition and say "Someday!"? The Warrior's Way is about courage - the courage to do something hard, something challenging, unpleasant, boring, uncomfortable - perhaps painful? It's about having the courage to face the unknown, to try something new, to risk rejection, to accept the possibility of failure, and use all that to increase knowledge and make an adjustment the next time.

If there is something in your life that requires action, what action step could you take today to move you toward your goal?

All that Socrates teaches Dan, and all that Dan later teaches us culminates in "walking the talk" as a daily practice. Soc reminds Dan that "Peaceful warriors practice everything....Practice involves doing with the conscious intention to improve, refine, so that each day, each moment, we commit to walking more smoothly, breathing more fully, and practicing everything we used to merely do. Practicing draws us into the present moment and makes every moment extraordinary."

Zen master Thich Naht Hahn writes in one of his books about washing the dishes, and how putting one's total attention on that act as it is happening creates a moment of meditation - an extraordinary moment. He talks about living as many moments as possible with that level of mindfulness.

How extraordinary might your life become if you stayed in the moment and focused all of your attention on that place, time, and activity! How might this practice transform the way you relate to your family, make love with your significant other, eat your meals, experience a walk in the woods, do any job or task? How will you create your own extraordinary moments?

I am now well into the fourth quarter of my year-long letting-go experiment. This experiment is being chronicled in a series of blog articles, which you can access by clicking on the link at the end of this article.

Below is an excerpt from the most recent blog:

This month, material things I have released include more weekly magazines, some costume jewelry, a few small knick-knacks, a phone, and a lot of foodstufs from my pantry and refrigerator (including some unopened items that count for this experiment). But again, as in last month's report, the biggest victories have been in the non-material realm.

Curious?