Peaceful Warrior

Dan Millman has it all: good grades, a shot at the Olympic team on the rings and girls lining up for the handsome Berkeley college athlete all teams mates look up to with envy.

Only one man shakes his confidence, an anonymous night gas station attendant, who like Socrates, keeps questioning every assumption in his life.

Then a traffic crash shatters Dan's legs, and his bright future. Now Socrates's life coaching is to make or break Dan's revised ambition.

That is what this movie is all about, breaking free from all the misconceptions we have and living in the moment, a moment that is rich with all the things we think are missing and in actuality are present in every heartbeat, so close and in our face that most of us miss it.

It's what Socrates calls being asleep while walking around living our lives and missing the fullness of life which surrounds us completely.

Of course letting go of what we call mind would be even better.

The greatest warrior of all is one who has resolved the battle within oneself.

I've long been a fan of the book upon which this film is based – Dan Millman's The Way of the Peaceful Warrior. [pdf download here]

Nick Nolte's performance as Socrates is one of the best he's ever given. Scott Mechlowicz does a great job showing us the transformation of Dan Millman.

Peaceful Warrior is that rare film that manages to be hugely inspirational without being cheesy. 

It's well worth seeing.  

13 Lessons From the Movie ‘Peaceful Warrior’

There are countless movies we could all think of that feature a great deal of truth, consciousness and even powerful messages. 

Fear creates restlessness and contributes to a lack of peace within your current reality – Makes a lot of sense when you really think about it. Fear, no matter it’s trigger, takes you out of the moment by forcing you to focus on your physical and emotional reaction to it. How can we expect to be at peace with this moment if we can’t even truly look at it because we instead are run by the fear it seems to have created. 

Doing something for an end result makes it harder to accomplish – On the surface this may seem non-sensical since there are countless examples we can all think of where people let a desired end result motivate them throughout the entire process of trying to attain it. Why I still think this statement holds some validity is because the expectations of an end result can often discourage and downplay the process in getting there. Rather than setting an end result of losing 20 pounds in 1 month and then gauging our success on whether or not that was accomplished, wouldn’t it be easier to just choose to begin taking care of our bodies or working out and letting the results be what they are at whatever pace they occur.

Old mentalities and past experience define our limitations – Who ever said that the highest you could jump was to barely touch the bottom of the mesh on your basketball net? Was it the set in stone voice of your heart/ soul? Or was it just what you have done the last few times you tried? Too often we let past results dictate what our bodies can and cannot do, rather than simply being in each attempt as a completely separate experience.

Rushed/ busy mentality prevents us from experiencing the moment – We all lead busy lives. Lives that often result in us multi-tasking (eating on the go, talking while we work, etc.) This lesson simply reminds us to take some time to actually fully experience one thing at a time. No matter how mundane or complicated the task we might just be surprised by how much it has to offer when we fully give ourselves to it.

Don’t run away from defeat, in fact stop evaluating everything as a win or a loss (success/ failure) – In the human experience we take something out of everything. It just seems to be a lot easier to value and enjoy what we take when it gets coupled with a favorable result. Imagine we didn’t evaluate all of our results and instead focused on what we took from the experience regardless.

Thoughts don’t reveal anything about you –Thoughts are just thoughts, many of them arise automatically and can very easily be used to either falsely satisfy or beat yourself up. Rather than letting your thoughts run you, simply observe them for what they are, perhaps even take the time to see where they might have come from (what triggered them, what contributed to that view/ opinion.) We might just be surprised by how much of what we think of regularly is really quite useless and unfounded.

There is never nothing going on – Boredom. We’ve all experienced it at times to varying degrees. The truth of the matter is even in those most boring of moments there is plenty going on. Next time you find yourself bored take the time to truly observe your surroundings, realize that your very existence alone is quite the thing to be going on, and see if anything in particular calls for you to get involved with.

Society/ media/ others love to thrust limitations on us, they only become true if we accept them – People can say whatever they want and say that its based on whatever they choose to credit it to. It only becomes a true part of your reality if you truly accept it. Think about the countless number of people who have defied what we previously thought possible, imagine if they let our previous definition of it not being possible stop them from showing us otherwise.

Everything has a purpose, it’s up to us to find it – Even the most difficult, challenging or emotionally engaging experiences in life have a greater purpose and servitude to our existence. It’s our choice whether we want to look internally and find it or continue to dwell on the outward experience it created.

Death does not equal sad. Sad equals the fact that some people never live – A lot of people find a great deal of peace and strength in death, for many that is a lot more of a profound experience than what many of us call daily life.

Don’t give up what you love, find love in what you do – The idea of giving up something that you love only stems from a disappointment in how it has worked out thus far. Rather than letting the past bury you, find the love in what you do and realize that no matter how it plays out it is a part of you.

“What if I can’t do it?” That’s the future, throw it out – All we have and can impact is this moment. Why would we let thoughts about a future moment hold us back from doing something that in this moment we would like to do.

Getting caught up in wants leads to nothing but suffering – Think about it. When we don’t get what we want we define it as a version of suffering. When we do get what we want we quickly suffer because we can’t hold onto it (it either slips from our grasp or loses its previous value shortly after we attain it.) [source]

Where Are You, What Time is It, What Are You

Where are you? …. Here
What time is it? … Now
What are you? … This Moment

There are no ordinary moments.
A Warrior acts; only a fool reacts.
Everything has a purpose — it’s up to you to find it.
Make every move about the move — that one moment in time.
Don’t fall into the trap — If only I had this, I’d be … If only … , I’d get to be happy.
If you don’t get what you want, you suffer. If you get what you want, you still suffer.
You control you. Master you.
Don’t pin your success on outcomes.
The people that are the hardest to love, probably need it the most.
Take out the trash. Clear you mind of everything you don’t need (doubt, past failures, future victories)
Develop the wisdom to use the right leverage at the right time.
Knowledge is not the same as wisdom. Knowledge is knowing — wisdom is doing.
You’ll never be better than anybody, the same way you’ll never be any less.
Experience the moment. Be fully engaged in the moment.
Limiting beliefs. Don’t become a victim of your own limiting beliefs. Stay adaptable.
Don’t miss out on what’s going on by letting your mind fill up with noise.
Trash is anything that keeps you from the only thing that matters which is right here and now.
Be right here, right now. Don’t be in the past, gloating. Be in the present living.
All you have is right now.
Let got of attachments.
Meditate. Be able to clear you mind and focus on the moment.
Don’t let your emotions control you.
Enjoy the here and now — that’s the secret.
Savor the moment.
Other people’s perspectives don’t matter as much if you have your own perspective.
Find your purpose.
Assign meaning. You’re the most important meaning maker in your life.
There’s never nothing going on (take a look around.)
Don’t give up the one thing you control — your response.
The habit is the problem. Wake up and experience the moment.
Be conscious of your choices.
Be responsible for your actions.
Every action has its price and it’s pleasure.
Most people don’t live at all.
When you feel fear, use this sword.
Don’t take for granted what you can do; don’t be sloppy with your life.
Devote life to a higher purpose; service to others.
The warrior doesn’t give up what they love.
The warrior finds the love in what they do.
The warrior is not about invincibility.
The warrior chooses to act; the coward reacts.
Life is about 20 seconds in front of the judges.
A warrior does what they love. A warrior does the thing they are put here to do.
Don’t live in fear of failure
It’s the journey, not the destination.
Warrior is not about perfection. Warrior is about absolute vulnerability.
Life is about choice.
Actions speak for themselves.

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