Of course not." He laughed. "Words mean little unless you realize the truth of it yourself. And when you do, you'll be free at last.” If we don’t focus on the present that we can fail to recognise what’s going on. To the extent that we make bad decisions. Which could lead to that future we are so worried about.

This book is Millman's vain attempt to weave a supernatural/"esoteric" story out of his - in my opinion pitiful - new age inspired search for meaning and fulfilment in life. Full of "new agey" drivel. The main message of the book is that people generally are too achievement focused and that we don't live in the moment. Nothing new about that idea, but fair enough. However, the book is poorly written, the story dry as firewood and the concepts (as well as how they are woven into the story trough dialogue) communicated are thoroughgoing corny and at times laughable. The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less. The above insight usually takes most seekers a lifetime to realize. It’s only after they exhaust themselves on their search that they realize what they’ve been looking for (inner-peace, spiritual freedom, self-mastery, etc) was within them all along. Right now, we have all of these gifts within us but we keep making the mistake thinking that they’re out somewhere else on a mountaintop. Insight #11 Unreasonable happiness der Schreibstil ist holperig und so mitreißend wie eine fünfstündige Dokumentation über Rechtsverordnungen als historische Textsorte We push ourselves so hard into being efficient, organised and successful. There no time for fun, because there’s always work to be done, control to maintain. Losing control is to show weakness. We can’t let our guard down, we’re too afraid too.

Favorite Lessons

Nonetheless, the old-man keeps Dan at a distance, by telling him to start looking answers somewhere else for the time being.

Years after reading the book Way of the Peaceful Warrior, again I’m reminded why I like it so much. This post was updated as of 2020. 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. My mind is like a pond without ripples. Your mind is full of waves because you feel separated from, and often threatened by, an unplanned, unwelcome occurrence. Your mind is like a pond into which someone has just dropped a boulder!"

Everyone should take the path of the peaceful warrior, and oppose the egoic sensations which seem to gain momentum. Who Should Read “Way of the Peaceful Warrior”? And Why? I *AM* a new-age, eclectic person and I gagged audibly at some of the tripe in this book. Yes, I finished it (yecch), but like a meal which one eats at the in-laws house as to not offend them, it left me with indigestion. 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.

Dan realizes that nothing is worth the tears and the discontent. This life is not about suffering, but about discovering your eternal self, which radiates blissfulness. He ends up marrying Joy, – and living in joy ! If our expectations are not met, either by others or by ourselves we get upset. As if the comsos is obligated to comply. To live then We have to let go of such an egotistical attitude, and let life flow by itself. To stop trying to grasp the wind. Control 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. everyone tells you what's good for you. they don't want you to find your own answers. they want you to believe theirs.”

Customer reviews

We need to be woken up, out of our complacency, our ignorance. To have our illusions shattered, and live with more awareness and presence. Well, it would be ignorant of us, to conduct any classification and choose a target audience to which this book would seem more appealing. I did find myself HOPING that some aspect of enlightenment or simple truth would be revealed to me , reminding me of my general unhappiness. This is one of the worst written books I ever read. Some basic tenets of eastern philosophy are poorly communicated through writing which is self-indulgent, overly dramatic, predictable, cliche and amateurish. Did I mention I didn't like it?

Because your greatest fear is death and your deepest craving is survival. You want Forever, you desire Eternity. In your deluded belief that you are this 'mind' or 'spirit' or 'soul', you find the escape clause in your contract with mortality. Perhaps as 'mind' you can wing free of the body when it dies, hmm?? I have no doubt that this book was life changing for some people, but for anyone who's already done any research into alternate spirituality, this read like "New age 101". For a complete newbie, this might b The secret of change is to focus all your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” 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.

Dan Millman Quotes

Dan is a world-class trampolining gymnast attending college at the University of California, Berkeley. The story begins when Dan experiences a series of nightmares, where he is in a dark lane. In front of him is Death, about to claim his life, when an old man appears out of nowhere and confronts Death. One particular night, Dan heads out to an all night gas station, where he meets the same old man from his dreams. The careless treatment of the 4th quarter of the story both troubled and insulted my soul. I was outraged at the sheer idiocy of the protagonist as I watched him abandon in the first available moment all of the wisdom he had gathered in the previous 75% of the book. Never in my whole life have I wanted the hero to fail so completely, simply with the justification that he deserves it because he's a moron. Again, if it's a memoir - Dan, you have my sympathies that you had to endure heartbreak to find happiness, but you should have paid attention to the teachings and the vision your possible life in the beginning. If this part was fiction - congratulations, you made me disgusted by your character.