Peaceful Warrior the Book Way

¶ … Peaceful Warrior

The book Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman describes the author's journey and the role of an individual he calls "Socrates" in this journey. The book is an interesting mixture of the everyday and the metaphysical, describing various stages the author goes through in order to reach the goal of "unreasonable" happiness. The author begins his narration by depicting his departure from home for college. It is during his first college year that he meets Socrates and begins a journey that would last the rest of his lifetime. When viewed from the psychological and theoretical perspective, several theories can be applied to the author's experiences. Such theories and concepts, as named by Gerald Corey's I never Knew I had a Choice, include the concept of eustress, the psychosocial theory, the concept of medication, the systemic perspective, and theories surrounding grief and loss.

What makes Millman's book powerful is the fact that each individual reader can find elements in the events to identify with. Although few people could claim to have met a character who could move as fast as Socrates when he jumped on the roof of the gas station office, the reactions of the narrator are entirely human and can be identified with easily. Throughout the book, the narrator is on a very particular spiritual journey, throughout which he is helped both by Socrates, his own inner strength, and the loved ones who surround him. Being presented with these experiences, the reader also then has the potential to recognize the spirituality of his or her own journey, as well as the meaning that could be attached to both painful and joyous experiences.

The first significant event in the book is Danny's journey away from his parental home to enter college. He correctly notes that "life begins," and he is expected, for the first time, to take responsibility for his own life. His life soon falls into a routine, with classes in the morning and gym in the afternoons, where he trains his gymnastic skills to competitive excellence. He does not enjoy the intellectual part of his college life much, and notes that he "tolerates" the classes in the morning while looking forward to his intense physical training sessions.

In this, one might apply the principle of eustress, which is a favorable type of stress that challenges the human being to find creative solutions to problems. Danny creatively responds to the situation of having to sit through classes by expending a large amount of energy during his gym sessions. The classes on the other hand give him an opportunity to make friends like Suzie. Social interaction does not come as easily to him as developing his physical body. Hence both the intellectual and social aspect of the classes provide Danny with a platform from which to develop his dormant abilities as a human being.

Furthermore, at this point Danny responds to the challenges of life with a positive and even jovial attitude. He knows that his gymnastic scholarship is more important to him than his studies, but on the other hand he understands that poor performance in either would result in a waste of his talents.

In my own life, there are many dichotomies like this, where I would really prefer to be involved in one thing when I am obliged to do something that I like somewhat less. Once such example is the fact that I enjoy hiking. My obligations to my studies and home life do not allow me to get out into the open as often as I might wish. Often I am for example faced with chores when I would rather be out hiking. On more than one occasion, I have allowed this to cause me considerable unhappiness.

Millman's book however taught me that human life is often a series of challenges that we don't always enjoy. By meeting these with a positive attitude, we allow the challenges to shape and develop us into better human beings. My studies for example will provide me with the background I need to one day get my dream job. The fact that I have to do chores helps me to develop responsibility and to keep my environment clean. When I have a home of my own, this quality will doubtlessly serve me well. Also, when we approach things we do not normally like from the perspective of growth and advantage, it is much easier to in fact enjoy these experiences, and making life more meaningful. If we understand that everything contributes to our spiritual journey, it feels much easier to accept those things we are simply obliged to do. We may not have a choice about what we want to do, but we do have a choice how to react and use our creativity to make the experience work in our favor.

A very interesting turning point in Millman's book is where he begins to have dreams of Death beckoning him. He experiences these dreams as bad omens in an otherwise perfect life, where the narrator's worst problems relate to tolerating classes he does not particularly enjoy. The dreams fill him with fear that he may be heading for a type of disaster. He is partially correct, although the outcome of the disaster is ultimately in his favor.

Shortly after the dreams begin, Danny meets Socrates. His meeting and subsequent relationship with Socrates can be seen in terms of the psychosocial theory. It has been mentioned above that Danny is not a particularly socially adept person. He is not particularly well-spoken and does not always handle himself well within a social setting. His interaction with Socrates however allows the emergence of his self, according to psychosocial theory, through an interaction with his social and cultural environment. Socrates is set apart from Danny's normal world of college and young friends. The environment is an old gas station, and Socrates is no longer a young man. However, Danny is attracted to both the environment and the man because something in himself has recognized an opportunity for favorable interaction and growth. Socrates continues to affect him throughout the book. Although some of the events are decidedly beyond the normal human social experience, these serve towards the emergence of Danny's true self. Socrates' apparently supernatural physical abilities during their first meeting for example serve to make Danny aware of possibilities beyond his own experience. In addition to Socrates' appearance in his dreams, this supernatural element provides the platform for the narrator's further development.

I believe that all people we meet in life has the purpose of serving our further development. No encounter leaves us unchanged. I do not have a parallel for Socrates in my life, but I have met people who are particularly important to me. One of these is a Mathematics teacher I had in high school. Before meeting this teacher, I despised the subject and wanted nothing at all to do with numbers. My grades showed this, but my parents would not allow me to graduate with Mathematics. They said that it would benefit me in the future.

The teacher became concerned when my grades kept falling and eventually asked me to meet her after school for a chat. I was afraid that she'd contacted my parents and that it would be an uncomfortable situation indeed. I was surprised that there was nobody besides the two of us in the classroom. As if by magic, she had guessed my concern about my parents and told me that we would invite them for a chat only if I proved unwilling to do something about my falling grades. She explained to me all the fields of future study that the subject would open up to me, and how much I would limit myself if I did not at least try to do better. She was very persuasive; much more so than my poor parents could hope to be. I agreed to try, and she helped me to set up a schedule of goals for the year to come. By the end of each term, she expected me to improve my grade by at least 5%. She also offered to help me by enrolling me into one of her extra afternoon classes. I was a bit suspicious of these at first and felt like scowling when I thought about what my parents would have to say about this.

All my doubts were quickly eliminated. The rest of the students in my class were quick to make friends with me. We were a very pleasant group, and under the leadership of our teacher, we were able to attain mathematical heights that we had only dreamed of so far. Each class began with an application of particular mathematical principles to the real world, after which we would discuss and work on problems. My grade improved by 10% by the end of each term, and at the end of the year I was not only part of a very special circle of friends; I was also at the head of my class with mathematics. Of course my parents beamed, and my teacher even more so.

The application of the psychosocial theory in my case is the fact that an aspect of myself that I was not aware of was allowed to emerge first by my interaction with my teacher and then by my interaction with the rest of the participants in the extra program. I never knew that I could be good at mathematics until I made the effort required by my teacher. In this way, she had a profound effect on my life as a whole, and not only on my Mathematics grade. Indeed, she made me aware that I am able to do whatever I want to and even those things I believe are beyond my reach. Because of her, I no longer need to doubt my ability to do everything I want to, and to do it well.

Meditation also plays an important role in the life of the narrator, particularly since he consciously started his spiritual journey with the help of Socrates. According to Corey, meditation is a focusing process, whereby the attention is directed towards a specific and/or repetitive stimulus. The narrator frequently uses this method of focus in the book. Specifically, however, one might see an element of meditation during his first experience after being "energized" by Socrates. When he returns to his classes, the narrator is all but unable to concentrate on the intellectual content of the lectures, being distracted by an extreme awareness of his physical sensations.

In this way, Dan's first "meditation" consists of focusing on the senses. While this makes it very difficult to concentrate on the mental side of his life, his physical side thrives. When going to the gym that afternoon, the narrator is aware of having the most excellent session he ever had in his life. He is able to enjoy his physical body in ways that had not previously been possible. This type of meditation, although it was not voluntary, focuses the attention upon the improvement of the physical. This focus brings about an improvement in the function of the physical body.

Being interested in spiritual matters, I have myself also been involved in various forms of meditation and experiencing the spiritual through the physical, including yoga. According to Corey, Yoga provides a way to focus on the present rather than the future or the past. This focus is what Danny does in the book. He focuses absolutely on the present sensations of his body, and is therefore unable to be distracted by either past or future concerns.

The yoga experience is similar. The body is used as a focus for the inner attention upon the present sensation of the body. In this way, the spirit and soul attain peace. Interestingly, this is not initially Danny's reaction. Instead, he finds himself worrying about failing the term, and he is somewhat unable to interact socially with his friend Suzie. Nevertheless, this experience also paves the way for his future meditation sessions, which he uses to help him develop throughout a path that is not always easy to follow.

Personally, I find meditation and yoga particularly useful when I go through times of turmoil. These times are generally connected to my worries about the future or my regrets about the past. Meditation and yoga help me to focus on the physical present and to focus my mind in a way that helps me to resolve the issue I am worried about without being unnecessarily stressed about it. In addition, it also helps me to focus on issues I can do something about rather than worry about things that cannot change. Focusing on the present is particularly helpful in this, in that my physical body and my emotions as I experience them in the present belong to me and are under my control. Hence, whenever I worry unnecessarily about something, I am able, through meditation and my yoga practice, to focus on my physical and emotional reactions to the problem, and to control these in a much more useful way than otherwise.

One example of such an event is a final exam I was particularly worried about. I knew the material well, but the lecturer had a way to ask tricky questions, and I found myself worrying about these. How many tricky questions would there be? Would I be able to recognize them? What if there was one I could not answer? What if I failed because I did not recognize one of the trick questions?

I recognize that these worries did nothing to contribute to my ability to do well in the test. I therefore had a brief meditation to calm and center my emotions. After the meditation I thought carefully about my options. I could continue worrying and so deplete the energy I had to prepare for the test. Or I could simply focus on doing my best with what I had and study as well as I could. Of course I took the second option. Every time I found myself worried, I engaged in yoga practice followed by a short meditation. On the day of the exam, I was perfectly calm. This sense of calm helped me to focus on the test, and I was able to answer all the questions and spot all the tricky items accurately.

According to Corey, the concept of solitude distinguishes itself from the various forms of loneliness by being chosen, and by being a positive vehicle for systemic spiritual growth. In Millman's book, the narrator often chooses solitude in order to ensure his growth. Indeed, Socrates appears to be aware of when this solitude is required, and when his companionship is required. Danny is for example left alone for a time after his injury to go through the grieving process in privacy. When he is ready, Socrates appears to help him develop the physical and emotional strength to regain what the narrator believed he had lost.

Later, when the narrator has a family of his own, he recognizes the further need for returning to himself by making a pilgrimage. In order to do this, he must leave his wife and child for a time. When he explains this to his little girl, he promises her to keep her in his mind and to provide his family with the opportunity to accompany him on one of his journeys. However, the solitary physical journey represents the narrator's inner journey -- one he must necessarily make alone. It is only by being in solitude that he can once again return to the companionship of his family to live an effective and fulfilled life as husband and father.

The self-imposed solitude at the end is a means for the narrator to express his spiritual maturity as well as the need to continue exploring his systemic perspective on his own spiritual growth. The book therefore appears to indicate that the spiritual journey requires frequent solitude in order to be truly successful.

Personally, I believe that solitude is indeed a sign of maturity and the willingness to growth further. When I look at my own life, I recognize that I frequently experienced different forms of loneliness when I was younger. Most frequently, I experienced transient loneliness after attending a party or being out with friends. These social events made me feel fulfilled and happy during my interactions. Immediately after leaving and being alone, I would then experience a feeling of transient loneliness, which would dissipate as soon as I became involved in my duties or studies at home.

I also experienced a sense of loneliness when I was home for some time and desired the companionship of friends. When I had completed my studies and didn't feel like hiking, for example, I would call a friend to alleviate the feeling of loneliness. During my hiking trips however I enjoyed a sense of solitude in nature. I believe that this is the feeling that Danny had of Socrates being part of everything around him. Even though his friend was not physically with him, he was able to experience a sense of him during his hours of solitude. In this way, the idea of Socrates became part of Danny himself.

In this way, I believe that solitude presents an opportunity to become acquainted with oneself. It teaches a person to be happy even in solitude, or indeed because of solitude. I find that nature is the best environment in which to seek solitude. For Danny, the ideal appeared to be a location of specific spiritual significance. I however feel that nature brings a person closer to what it truly is to be spiritual. Spirituality is not an imposed ideal created by others, regardless of how large this group of people is. Instead, I feel that spirituality relates to the personal inner self. Where I am during meditation is my own spiritual ideal. Solitude is the best way to connect with one's personal inner spirituality, and it is also the best way to effect growth.

When I have time to myself, I like to go hiking and perhaps combine this with a few minutes to about half an hour of meditation. This always provides me with a feeling of relaxation and composure, especially when I am facing a difficult situation.

The most significant growth experienced by the narrator in Millman's book is by means of grief. He felt the loss most intensely when his leg was injured during an accident. Of course Socrates was there to help him through this time, and explained that, although it seemed like an accident, losing the use of a significant body part was really orchestrated as a lesson for spiritual growth.

According to Corey, there are ten touchstones of grief in order to create a learning experience from it. These include opening to the presence of loss, dispelling misconceptions about grief, embracing the uniqueness of grief, exploring the feelings of loss, recognizing that there is no mental illness, understanding the needs of mourning, nurturing oneself, reaching out to others, seeking reconciliation, and coming to appreciate one's process of transformation. The narrator experiences all of these touchstones to some degree. Both his physical and emotional healing processes are lengthy events. His physical healing occurs first. Once he has explored and recognized the needs for grief, Danny begins his physical healing process. He works to regain his physical prowess in order to regain his ability to once again compete in gymnastics. His success in this goal however proves unsatisfactory and even hollow. Gymnastics and his ability to compete no longer satisfies him as it used to. Danny's true spiritual healing only begins once his physical healing is complete but proves unsatisfactory. This is where the journey towards true happiness begins. It is only at the beginning of this process that the narrator can truly overcome the extent of his loss.