Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives

Story time! So my younger brother was the athlete of the family. He always had WAYYYY too much energy and drove us all bonkers so he was enrolled into gymnastics at a very young age. (I mean I was too... but I was pretty promptly un-enrolled when my coach and mother realized I was far more concerned with Harry Potter than I was about doing splits and standing on my head.) He excelled at the sport though and went from goof-off classes to serious classes to hardcore competitive men's gymnastics, and from there on we traveled a lot to his various competitions and things. We also realized men's gymnastics is quite the underrated sport.

So when the movie came out my parents dragged us to see it because the main character was a male gymnast, and how often does that happen? Now despite the fact that I read through a majority of my brother's competitions (hey I watched his events, okay?) I actually really enjoyed the movie, and when I found out it was a book that was just an added bonus. I think it also may be the key to why I enjoyed this book so much. I didn't read it as a philosophical, self-help, spiritual story. The message was there (obviously) but I boiled it down to it being a way of life that helped Dan rather than one that would help me. Reading it that way made it an inspiring and fun read rather than a preachy you-must-subscribe-to-this-way-of-thinking book. I wasn't reading it to find happiness, just to enjoy myself. So in that regard, I really enjoyed this book and found it to be an excellent read.

Every time the author made a comment about a woman, I threw up a little. Between his objectification of women and all the egotistical descriptions of his physique and his performance, it's extremely difficult to root for the main character...or continue reading the book. The lessons of Socrates are well worth learning, however. There are just plenty of other books out there that have the same teachings without the offensiveness.

I loved this book.

It resembled - in idea - to The Alchemist. It was beautifully written and makes you question. Although it is fiction, the content and the ideas are very valid. It is like reading Buddhist philosophy in fiction format. A must read.

With 11,605 ratings and 844 reviews, including 15 from my friends, I'm going to offer something more useful in this review than simply saying it's a great book or rehashing the content.

It is, by the way, a great book and reminded me of my own journey to enlightenment.

Here's a list of books to check out if you enjoyed "Way of the Peaceful Warrior" and want to study further in the area.

For books that will complement the journey you'll start here, check out Initiation by Elisabeth Haich and for a step-by-step guide, The Awakening Course: The Secret to Solving All Problems by Joe Vitale. For a little less spiritual but still helpful guide, check out The Pursuit of Perfect: How to Stop Chasing Perfection and Start Living a Richer, Happier Life by Tal Ben-Shahar. If you're still caught up in the Great Illusion, then your journey may be helped with The Art of Happiness in a Troubled World by the Dalai Lama XIV.

To read something that will deepen your understanding of "The Gas Station at Rainbow's End," check out the classic Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach.

To learn how to free yourself from beliefs as written about on page 15, read The Key: The Missing Secret for Attracting Anything You Want by Joe Vitale, Psycho-Cybernetics, A New Way to Get More Living Out of LifeMaxwell Maltz and New Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz and Dan Kennedy, and finally Excuses Begone!: How to Change Lifelong, Self-Defeating Thinking Habits by Wayne W. Dyer.

To learn more about "The Web of Illusion," read Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach.

On page 72, Millman talks about using feedback to course correct. You can learn more about feedback from success principle 19 "Use Feedback to Your Advantage," in The Success Principles(TM): How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to BeJack Canfield.

To understand more about the "source" that Millman writes about on page 73, read Busting Loose from the Money Game: Mind-Blowing Strategies for Changing the Rules of a Game You Can't Win and Busting Loose from the Business Game: Mind-Blowing Strategies for Recreating Yourself, Your Team, Your Customers, Your Business, and Everything in Bet by Robert Scheinfeld.

On page 108, Millman writes about making a diet of the sun's energy. Janet Bray Attwood writes about finding a man in India who only lived on such a diet in The Passion Test: The Effortless Path to Discovering Your Destiny.

On page 162, Millman writes, "The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less." This philosophy is the core of The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 95, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss. The same author applies effective simplicity to habits of the body in The 4-Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-Loss, Incredible Sex, and Becoming Superhuman. You can also find a simpler approach to diet in The Abs Diet: The Six-Week Plan to Flatten Your Stomach and Keep You Lean for LifeDavid Zinczenko.

On page 186, Millman asks, "What is after enlightenment?" This is a question Joe Vitale answers in Inspired Marketing!: The Astonishing Fun New Way to Create More Profits for Your Business by Following Your Heart and Wayne W. Dyer writes about in Inspiration: Your Ultimate Calling.

The Allegory of the Cave, which Millman mentions on page 196, can be found at the start of Book VII in The Republic by Plato.

About love, on page 199, you can find more from The Power by Rhonda Byrne.

After journey down the enlightenment path myself, finding out through direct experience what lies on the other side, I see myself more as Socrates in this book than Dan Millman.

I found this book a good and easy read on spirituality...without making the whole subject too heavy. I am from India and have started reading some books on spirituality over last 6 months. Was able to relate to lot of messages in this book to the Bhagavad Gita. But am sure, the message is universal across all philosophies.

Peaceful warrior' is written as a simple story and covers whole nine yards of living a "warrior's" life - beautifully told with a good humour. You have to look for the messages on every page...messages to live the disciplined life, to control your emotions, to find happiness within oneself, to attain a peaceful mind, message on how to be a "peaceful warrior"!

The actual day-to-day techniques/methods/philosophy of how you attain the above are left to the reader, it is a good book to make you aware and conscious.

This is a book that I will surely read again and again over years.

This book came to me at a crossroads in my life, when I was uncertain of almost everything I always thought I knew, when I couldn't discern the source of my internal conflict. The story centers around a main character with similar core issues who meets (in quite serendipitous circumstances) another character who utterly transforms his life. The book has stayed with me over the years and remains a personal favorite. There's magic in the simplicity of it, yet an enchantment that transcends the story itself.

This is actually a reread for me, but I can't remember exactly when I read this before. It was definitely after a bad accident I'd been in back in 2006, which makes sense given the path Dan takes through this story. Both this and the movie have such a great message that resonates so much for me. The book definitely gives more quotes and metaphors to learn from, but the movie has its pros as well. I feel like this book should be read by everyone to just help you see the importance of being present. I try to keep this on mind in my life, so I know it's an incredibly difficult task. But check this book out so that the next time you see the sunset or a snow storm or anything you've seen 1000 times before, you can stop and appreciate it. Great book, great message, just trust me.

Either he was high when he wrote it or I need to be high to read it.