"Путь мирного воина" Дэна Миллмэна - противоречивая книга, которая мало кого оставляет равнодушным. Кто-то называет её "абсолютной чушью", другие считают "великой книгой, меняющей жизнь". Почему такое расщепление мнений?
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Начну с "минусов". Книга - типичный образчик new age эзотерики, где эталонными являются тексты Кастанеды. Написаны подобные тексты словно под копирку: есть главный герой (ГГ) - инфантил и неудачник; есть наделённый волшебными способностями "гуру", изрекающий афоризмы и периодически (чтобы читатель на заскучал))) демонстрирующий всякие трюки типа запрыгивания на крышу. Кроме того есть магическая "иная реальность" и некое учение, постигая которое ГГ решает все свои проблемы, обретает призвание, находит счастье и т.п.
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Разумеется, и "гуру" и его "учение" являются авторской выдумкой. Это некий синтез даосизма, дзэна, бусидо, психоанализа и др. Истины проповедуются банальные, но в целом верные: посмотри в лицо своим страхам; присутствуй в настоящем; прими себя и действуй как целостное существо; избавляйся от иллюзий и страстей и т.д.
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Книга написана ОЧЕНЬ простым языком! Это уровень не литературы, а кухонных разговоров)). Но парадоксальным образом это работает в "плюс" - даже абстрактные персонажи (вроде "гуру" Сократа) кажутся более живыми и настоящими.
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Главный секрет (и "плюс") этой книги: она адресована читателям в возрасте 15-25 лет. Т.е. тем, кто преодолевает кризисы подростковой/юношеской идентичности. В этом возрасте осознать себя в роли "мирного воина", способного самостоятельно управлять своей жизнью - прекрасно! На этапе перехода к взрослости (а "взрослость" сегодня может наступать в очень разном возрасте))) эта книга действительно может стать неплохим источником мотивации/вдохновения, ресурсом для саморазвития.
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Вывод: эзотерическая сказка для тех, кто взрослеет.

Оценка: 3/5 (я давно перерос эту книгу; но регулярно общаюсь с теми, для кого она будет полезна; т.е. от меня лично 1 балл, с точки зрения целевой аудитории 5 баллов, среднее арифметическое = 3 )))

It is a very interesting book with a deep meaning. Although I do not believe in all those things about enlightenment or becoming "an empty vessel" to let the light go through, I do believe that we have to learn how to be happy. Nowadays people are too busy to see that real happiness is not something that we have to look for. It is already inside us and all we have to do is to spot it, feel it, and let it happen.
I really like the quote about hiking. I agree that the mountains are the only place you can feel freedom, happiness, inner and outer peace.

One of the most enjoyable books I’ve read this year.

It reminded me of the original Karate Kid movie. The story effectively utilizes the classic young hero and mysterious mentor trope. The character development was drastic but believable - especially given its roots in the author’s real life.

Definitely a book I would recommend to anyone who wants some exposure to philosophy, and would rather read something closer to a fun Hollywood movie than a soporific dissertation.

Aside from the translation of Dan's journey, this story has me pondering. Philosophy and life's meanings have always urged me with self reflection, where I'm constantly working toward enlightenment. Spirituality finds a way of pulling a reluctant soul into awareness simply by paving a difficult path. There have been moments where ignoring the obvious was no longer an option and change was going to take place whether one agreed or not. In my case, I found myself in extraordinary situations when I removed myself from a life I knew, threw a backpack on my back and travelled abroad. Moments of solitude, loneliness, and the unknown striped me of all things in which I defined myself. It was during this time where, not only did I feel the most alive, but free. This book has stirred up everything that I discovered within myself all those years ago, a lifetime. I'm pleased this book found it's way to me. It's time again to work on myself........

I have been blessed with the great books I have read and this will surely make it somewhere near to the top of the list.

To be Here Now and to be Happy. The toughest of things to do even though you know it makes perfect sense.

Nature and the Gods can be your teacher but unfortunately they do not speak and even if they did we are not yet ready to hear them. To find the right teacher to take you in this path and to surrender yourself as a disciple.

Read this book as it takes you through the challenges that exist for everyone.

This was an interesting book from many perspectives, it kept my attention and it was entertaining and easy to read. However, I found myself questioning a lot of the assertions made and at the risk of sounding all new agey a lot of it didn't resonate with me. Perhaps it was the authors occupation as a gymnast and his preocupation with the physical and his ego. I found it hard to relate to his problems and therefore some of the methods of Socrates. I think perhaps that it was just too masculine a story for me...in my mind warriors do not have to be paragons of physical discipline and strength - a warrior is anyone who moves beyond the flow of the worlds illusions in whatever form they take. As a mother I found myself wondering how he could abandon his daughter so easily and not rate her a mention in his life. I found myself struggling with the same aspect of the Buddhas life as well (not mentioned in this book but just an observation of mine). It seems all very well and good for men to up and leave their partners and children to acheive enlightenment but someone must look after the children...children need love and nurturing - that to me is the essence of enlightenment. I think I need to go and find some stories about women achieving enlightenment through everyday means, women awakening through being mothers - finding their divinity through piles of dirty nappies and sleepless nights with sick children...

I read this book in 1999 after a traumatic brain injury left me hopeless and depressed. Perhaps my brain was at just the right stage of healing or perhaps I'd always been waiting to read these messages -- but it really did change my life forever.

Not usually a fan of novels, but this one kept my attention well. Lots of intriguing visualizations are utilized throughout the book to spice up classic & intuitive (but still meaningful) themes. There's definitely a good blend of imagination & reality, as Millman recounts an exaggerated version of his real world struggles. Overall, this book is a pretty solid yet digestible read.

I couldn't recommend this book more for everyone to read. I will say you not only need an imagination, but an open mind to truly awaken these lessons inside.
My energy was drawn to these pages at a perfect time. I'm embarking on my silent journey for a week, and I couldn't be more grateful to run into this refresher course of the soul.
The best part for me is how you find yourself in the position of both teacher and student, working together to unravel and discover ones purpose in life.
Enjoy and share with all.

This book reminded me of The Empire Strikes Back when Luke meets Yoda mixed with the karate kid. I can't say my life was changed but it does have that classic teacher/student life lesson theme that people will spend money on.

A thank you to my friends Daniel and Kate who gifted me this book for my 30th Birthday. As a present, it was 5 out of 5. Very thoughtful and, most importantly, it entered my life with excellent timing. It helped to consolidate a lot of my current thoughts in to a more solid model.

'Way of the Peaceful Warrior' is a fiction story about one young man's mentorship with a character called Socrates.

As a novel, this book is bordering on awful. The prose is amateurish and the dialogue cliched.

But as a guide, this book is excellent.

By using a fictional story the author gives you a ring-side seat to a Socratic discussion about the nature of mindfulness and reality. You could call this a guide on how to be happy. A kind of Buddhism meets Hollywood.

Below are my overall take-aways. But first, an apology. It is in fact very difficult to describe these concepts without sounding a little bit like a loon. This is partly due to the fact that we don't have a mutually agreed upon vocabulary to describe internal experience. What I call mind, spiritual, awareness, fear, anxiety, calmness or spontaneity... you likely call something else.

Here we go:

The mind is an incessant internal narrative of images, sounds and feelings which act to distract you from the only thing that exists; the here and now.

This present moment. There is no past or future - only representations of them, created by the mind.

That definition of mind is important to remember as you read more of my summary.

A "warrior" must become neither attached to, nor resist, the thoughts generated by the mind. Instead, cultivate "satori" - this is a zen concept that

describes your attention resting in the present moment.

Sometimes we call this awareness Flow. Sometimes we call it Calm. Sometimes we call it Meditation. Sometimes we call it Relaxation. Depending on your choice of vocabulary, you may have used these or any other words to describe it.

It is the state where your awareness is focused on the now without judgement of what your mind is throwing up. Thoughts that your mind generate are neither positive nor negative until you focus your awareness on to them allowing you to assign them a label via a judgement. "This pizza sucks!"... "These shoes are the best!".

The "warrior" chooses to "let it go" - do not attach or resist the thought. Just, let it go.

Awareness comes before the mind. In fact, the only reason there is a mind to begin with is because you grant awareness to the thoughts.

You are not your mind.
You are what precedes your thoughts.
You are pure awareness.

Thought experiment: Change your clothes and the music you listen to, are you still you? Yes. Cut off your leg, are you still you? Yes. Change your behaviour and are you still you? Yes. Change your opinions, are you still you? Yes.

So what are you?

The argument pertains that you are fundamentally, nothing but, awareness.

Although you are not your mind, we mostly live under the illusion that we are our minds. This is Plato's Allegory of the Cave. What your mind throws up is not reality - it is simply a representation of reality. We then focus our awareness on to that representation (the shadows of Plato's cave) and hey presto, the illusion that we are our mind.

In other words; you become what you focus on.

Because we focus our awareness on our mind we live in a state of reaction to the mind's thoughts. Our behaviour becomes nothing but habit. Someone dies and we cry, we agree to the expectations of others and we feel stressed, our business goes under and we feel depressed, someone makes a joke and we laugh, someone gives us a gift and we are grateful. Both the "good" and "bad" behaviours are reactions. They are habits.

When you let your mind lead the way, all of your happiness and sadness is dependent upon whatever habit you spent a lifetime cultivating.

But when you are instead aware of only the present moment, you remove yourself being reactive to situations. Instead, from a place of emptiness, you can now choose your behaviour. You can be truly spontaneous only when your behaviour has become a choice.

So when that happens, choose to be unreasonably happy.

Because that is who you are.

I was excited to pick this book up. I mean, who doesn't want to read something that advertises right on the cover that it changes lives?! So, imagine me, sitting down at the table with said book and my cup of coffee, big cheesy grin on my face thinking, "Ok, Self. Are you ready to have your life changed?"

Now, imagine my face as I hit page 20 and realize that this book isn't going to get any better, doesn't contain deep life secrets, and that I will now have to power through this flaming heap of garbage for the sake of my book club...

The author of this book was an affluent white man and a talented, successful athlete. You don't get to forget these facts. The entire book is one big humble-brag under the guise of finding enlightenment that requires him to give up his amazing life. [And now he makes tons of money selling books that preach this philosophy. Totally hypocritical.]

The writing is HORRIBLE. It's rambly and overly descriptive. I was exhausted after each chapter - reading and reading and reading to get nowhere. I feel like the author was high when he wrote it. Maybe I need to get high to appreciate it? I don't understand how there are so many good reviews for this book. Perhaps it was the era. Perhaps you have to like Kool-Aid.