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I started reading Millman’s second book about the journey of the peaceful warrior in the first book. Surely I am going to write more about it.
It starts out very well. A thing I liked from the start is the translation of “carpe diem”, make your day. The warrior recognizes the shaman in Hawaii because she said “Create your day” rather than “have a good day”.
If all warriors would use the same quote, would we be able to change the world?
I did not notice that Dan Millman wrote more than this book. I finished it and would like to add some more comments but also I ordered his other 2nd book; Millman wrote a book which takes out bits and pieces of his book and then discusses them. Would he write a blog for me?
Guess not, as he has his own blog. Visit his website: http://www.danmillman.com/ - a lot of questions are answered there. And, looking at his page, that is something where I would love to end up in years. Inspiring people, giving advise, writing books and make a living from it. My respect, Mr. Millman!
Lets get back to the book:
Once you make your choice, do it with all your spirit. Don’t be like the evangelist who thought about praying while making love to his wife, and thought about making love to his wife while praying.
I love this rather common phrase, because deep down it shows commitment. You either do it or you do not. You do not take on a job you cannot do or would not try everything possible to finish it, would you? Do not do anything lighthearted, rather not do it at all!
Then Millman talks about Happiness and Money. Which I like because I would love to have millions of GBP in my bank account however happiness is more important. The difference between being wealthy and being rich.
Happiness = Satisfaction / Desire
“If you have enough money to satisfy your desires, Dan, you are rich. But there are two ways to be rich: You can earn, inherit, borrow, beg, or steal enough money to meet expensive desires; or you can cultivate a simple lifestyle of few desires; that way you always have more than enough money.”
Whatever you desire in life, if you keep it small (denominator in the above equation) then the happiness gets greater by same satisfaction - that reminds me of my maths class at university. Or, you have lots of money and can satisfy a lot. But the problem will be you have more money (increase in satisfaction), your desire grows and then happiness does not grow. So if you have a lot of money try to keep your desires small.
I reckon Dan is right to keep your desires simple and modest and you are easier pleased ergo your happiness is higher. It makes sense - the less things to worry about, the less things to aim or strive for, the less to worry, the more to live for!
While it is difficult to just pick out some of Dan’s quotes there is another thought I enjoyed.
“You do have a terminal illness: it is called birth.”
So often you hear people that have cancer for instance and say “I make every day as nice as possible and live it as if it was my last. I have nothing to lose.” - We all are in that situation. We only have around 75 years on average on this planet. Let us all make the most of it, the most of NOW. The power of NOW. Why wait to make decisions and wait to be something we can be today. Start changing your life today, there might not be a tomorrow!
Dan describes very vividly at the end of the book how death appears and what happens to your body. It is eaten away and becomes dust. End of story.
Not quite because that is “just” your body. You live in it, you nourish it and vice versa but at the end of the day it is your thought and your soul that makes YOU. Luckily I have never experienced it but if someone has an accident that results in a body damage. Sure, life will never be the same, but the person stays the same. The body changes but the mind does not. One stays oneself; if you lose an arm through an accident you still are the same person.
I leave you with those thoughts for the weekend. It is important to understand that the conscious and the mind explains what you feel, how you feel, what you like and wish for. But the body has little or no influence. One could go as far to say that the body is just a protection around our thoughts and keeps them protected.
We decide with our mind, willpower and motivation what we like to do.
I tell you about fasting tomorrow.
As I read along there is another passage in the book:
“I’ve just introduced a little more energy into your body than you’re used to,” he explained. It will accelerate the healing processes. It burns only where you have knots. If you were free of obstruction - if your mind was clear, your heart open, and your body free of tension, you’d experience the energy as an indescribable pleasure - better than sex. You’d think you were in heaven, ….
Wow! The first part reminds me of taking homeopathic remedies and getting better after only a few hours because my body is getting energy to accelerate the healing process in a more or less “natural” way. It focuses on the illness only, similar to some Chinese medicine I suppose.
So if we are free from obstruction - any illnesses, any worries, any thoughts - then our mind is clear and our heart is open. There is nothing we have to worry about, nothing to think about and we would in fact be open for anything: love, peace, happiness, possibly enlightenment.
If we came to this situation and did not feel any tension what so ever I could be convinced that the energy flow in our body would be a pleasure and joy. We would feel great, energized and powerful, happy and … as Millmann says “felt indescribable pleasure”.
But better than sex…..
I suppose if you clear all thoughts and focus on the energy flow in your body, then the thought of sex is gone too. But maybe that is just a male thinking and there is a stronger energy flow than at an orgasm. Wikipedia says: An orgasm (sexual climax) is [...] characterized by intense physical pleasure, controlled by the involuntary, or autonomic, nervous system.
Would that mean that there is an energy flow which has a more intense physical pleasure than an orgasm and might not be controlled by our nervous system? That is a fascinating idea - maybe similar to having an orgasm that goes on and on?
At least Wikipedia now explained why I am getting so tired too ,-) …… - click here.
Definately time to go to bed.
“The release of atomic energy has not created a new problem. It has merely made more urgent the necessity of solving an existing one.”
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
Whilst reading the above book, after recovering from a flu-like cold, I came across a nice story which I like to reproduce here. I am sure Dan Millmann would not mind me copying this passage and publish it here:
An old man and his son worked on a small farm, with only one horse to pull the plow. One day, the horse ran away.
“How terrible,” sympathized the neighbours. “What bad luck.”
“Who knows whether it is bad luck or good luck,” the farmer replied.
A week later, the horse returned from the mountains leading five wild mares into the barn.
“What wonderful luck!” said the neighbours.
“Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?” answered the old man.
The next day, the son, trying to tame one of the horses, fell and broke his leg.
“How terrible. What bad luck!”
“Good luck? Bad luck?”
The army came to all the farms to take the young men for war. The farmer’s son was of no use to them, so he was spared.
“Good? Bad?”
This story fascinates me as it shows in a simple way that there are always two sides to look at. A situation has its positive sides and negative sides. A car accident can lead to you missing a plane that could have crashed if you were on board. Things in life happen that might prevent us to get into worse situations although they look like being bad situations themselves. There is always something that could be worse and something that could be better.
Everything has a purpose - is said in the book. And it is up to us to make the best out of it. Sometimes the worst situations bring out the best in people. It is not by accident that people who are pushed to their boundaries usually perform the best.
Whatever you do in life there are different views to it. A bad situation could prevent something worse. A good situation easily turn into a bad one. And a bad situation can turn into something good. Never forget, it also depends on your map, your territory, of what you make of things.
Have a good night.
It is not always easy to find a new topic. I got the man flu - a rather bad cold - which tied me down all weekend. Am not feeling the greatest I have to say. But, I feel obliged to write a few lines. But what about?
Maybe about the latest book I am reading, “the peaceful warrior“, or the the book that changes lives. It feels to me as if I had heard that story before and maybe I have seen the movie years ago. A friend recently recommended me the book and what it says in the beginning I found quite interesting: “one has one or more teachers in life outside school/university“.
And yes, that is quite interesting for me to look back. Teachers or mentors. People who give you guidance. There are of course my parents, my brother if I allowed him to because he was older, my grandparents on both sides, my friends’ parents surely, my teachers in school and university, my friends to a certain extend, my “big-brother”, the porter in halls of residence, my wife, my managers, my work colleagues…..- I guess I could extend this list indefinitely. Where do one start to call someone a teacher and at what point does this person become a mentor?
I suppose for me I surely learn a lot from anyone. The person selling me my train ticket, the car salesman, the “Big Issue” seller in London, the police at the accident scene, my friends. But, for someone to become a mentor, a guardian, that is different. A guardian angel of course is something I believe in, imaginary, non touchable.
But a real life guardian (angel), mentor or coach - latter - is the one that makes the difference to my life. He gives me guidance without teaching, without being patronizing. Someone who lets me do mistakes and directs me rather than tells me what to do. That is where good leadership differentiates from bad leadership - where dictatorship differs from democracy with a leader - if that makes sense. The idea that someone is a mentor means for me that this person has a big influence on one’s life. In small steps or big leaps.
I for instance have a few mentors that show up in my life every now and then and give me “food for thought” on how to continue the journey. Because they are stepping into my life now and then they evaluate the situation thoroughly, invest time to question and find good guidance.
Whilst the mentors who are there permanently do not take the time to catch up but give you direct advice rather than letting you come up with your own thoughts and ideas - your own direction in life.
I guess it comes down to being a teacher versus a coach. A good coach in my opinion is not necessarily a good teacher, is more of a “non-teacher” - but usually s/he is a good manager and leader. Whilst a good teacher can be a better by being a good coach and teacher, combining the best of two worlds for the job of a teacher.
For tonight that is a nice ending. If you find a good coach, it takes you from A to B. Like the coach as a bus. The coach gives you guidance but you have to put the effort in to get there. The “coach route” is set out for you, with you coming up with your own idea on how to move from A to B. It empowers you, motivates you and gives you self-esteem and self-confidence.
A teacher just seems to tell you what is right or wrong and you just have to swallow it. If you believe it, if it is on your path and whether you want to go from A to B, that does not matter.
Have a safe journey.
ballueder
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