Meditations on the peaceful warrior:
Most people have never experienced the mind being free of thoughts, the senses free from constant receiving of information, the body consuming bio-available whole foods and the fire that burns from disciplining ourselves to NOT do whatever the hell we feel like. In order to prepare the mind and body we have to choose to walk the warrior path.
To start you must refrain from meat,dairy, alcohol, sex, t.v. , music and fantasy's that further delude you. Consume only water, eat only raw foods, exercise daily, practice meditation and adopt a fasting routine one day a week. For most people a response of unhappiness and depression arise with this lifestyle change. The ego can't quench its thirst and people don't feel like their old, predictable selves because they can't use substances to lean on. Eventually people feel cleansed and empowered, but the challenge is not getting to a point of readiness, it is maintaining from that point on.
You've probably heard the saying that everyone is an optimist in the first four hours of a diet. So when we make positive changes, take on new disciplines, or start new exercise routines or dietary regimens, we begin with enthusiasm and may even experience positive results in a relatively short time.
But inevitably, over time, we hit plateaus and find that with the peaks come valleys. Our disciplines are no longer new; they become routine. And at some point the initial passion or motivation wears thin. It's no longer fun telling friends about our new and exciting enterprise. All that's left is us and the daily decision to persist or not.
At some point in my life the newness with my training had worn off and I had to confront my rising resistance and waning excitement. In this phase of our old, familiar and generally easier lifestyles call us back to the way things were. A safety net to catch us when we choose to no longer stand on our own. Fits of nostalgia fill our fantasy lives as doubts rise. After all, what was so bad about the way things were?
Applying willpower against the inertia of old habits is like applying friction to roll a boulder uphill; it increases psychic heat that has purifying, empowering effects. But it burns just the same, and we hear the siren's sweet song, urging us to go back to the familiar, to be like everyone else, to be welcomed back into the fold, to take the pressure off.
Thus, stop engaging in a destructive habit, such as smoking or binge drinking, it isn't enough to stop just once; we have to stop ourselves again and again, each and every time temptation arise- he slave response to our senses- even when no one is praising us or cheering us on except ourselves. From a honest view whatever we do is perfect (no right or wrong, only consequences.) We each have our own choices to make, or own lives to live. But at certain decision points, when we don't know which path to take, it may be helpful to ask yourself " Have I always done this? Are the outcomes, circumstances and emotions in my life always the same?
Character is revealed through the choices we make under pressure. The choices we make and the actions we take after the honeymoon is over- when motivation fades and doubts arise- are the true tests of character. If our behaviors are aligned with our highest aims, despite resistance or boredom or fear, then we continue to persist just one more hour, just one more day, along the warriors path.
