Way of the Peaceful Warrior: Psychology and Self-Growth

Introduction: Danny's Journey and Its Theoretical Framework

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 meditation, 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 onto the roof of the gas station office, the reactions of the narrator are entirely human and easily identified with. Throughout the book, the narrator is on a very particular spiritual journey, throughout which he is helped by Socrates, his own inner strength, and the loved ones who surround him. Being presented with these experiences, the reader 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.

Eustress and the Challenge of College Life

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 sessions 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 a person 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 aspects 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 he also 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 I like somewhat less. One 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 faced with chores when I would rather be out hiking, and 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 we do not always enjoy. By meeting these challenges with a positive attitude, we allow them 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. Having to do chores helps me develop responsibility and keep my environment clean — qualities that will doubtlessly serve me well when I have a home of my own. When we approach things we do not normally like from the perspective of growth and advantage, it is much easier to actually enjoy these experiences, 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 are required to do, but we do have a choice about how to react, and we can use our creativity to make the experience work in our favor.

Psychosocial Theory and the Role of Meaningful Mentors

A very interesting turning point in Millman's book is where Danny begins to have dreams of Death beckoning him. He experiences these dreams as bad omens in an otherwise perfect life, where his 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 ultimately proves to be in his favor.

Shortly after the dreams begin, Danny meets Socrates. His meeting and subsequent relationship with Socrates can be understood in terms of the psychosocial theory. It has been mentioned that Danny is not a particularly socially adept person. He is not especially 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. Nevertheless, 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 the people we meet in life have 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 have been 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 to do with numbers. My grades reflected this, but my parents would not allow me to graduate without Mathematics, saying 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 had contacted my parents and that it would be an uncomfortable situation. I was surprised to find 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 she would only involve them if I proved unwilling to do something about my falling grades. She explained 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 — far more so than my parents could hope to be. I agreed to try, and she helped me set up a schedule of goals for the year ahead. By the end of each term, she expected me to improve my grade by at least five percent. She also offered to enroll me in one of her extra afternoon classes.

All my doubts were quickly eliminated. The other students in the class were quick to make friends with me. We were a very pleasant group, and under the leadership of our teacher, we attained mathematical heights we had only dreamed of. Each class began with an application of particular mathematical principles to the real world, after which we would discuss and work through problems. My grade improved by ten percent 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 but also at the head of my class in Mathematics. My parents were thrilled, and my teacher even more so.

The application of psychosocial theory in my case is the fact that an aspect of myself that I was not aware of was allowed to emerge — first through my interaction with my teacher and then through 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 my teacher required of me. In this way, she had a profound effect on my life as a whole, and not only on my Mathematics grade. She made me aware that I am capable of doing whatever I set my mind to, 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.

Conclusion: Lessons from the Peaceful Warrior

The book as a whole was a great learning experience. It taught me that true happiness is possible even in the face of great loss. It also taught me that solitude is often a welcome ally in self-development, and that this can be balanced with companionship to create a truly fulfilled life.

I believe that the elusive "gate" Socrates refers to is an attainable goal, and that the joy of finding and opening it will truly surpass any grief and pain that could be experienced in this life. I enjoyed the book very much, although I find that the supernatural elements were sometimes a little difficult to reconcile with the rest of the events in the narrative. Nevertheless, it is a highly inspirational work that helped me reflect on many of my own experiences and consider the lessons I could draw from them. Readers interested in the psychological dimensions of personal growth will find that Way of the Peaceful Warrior offers rich material for self-examination alongside its spiritual narrative.

Sources

Corey, Gerald. I Never Knew I Had a Choice. Cengage Learning, 2008.

Millman, Dan. Way of the Peaceful Warrior. HJ Kramer, 2009.