There is joy in the unexpected.

And frustration.

We never know when we will meet the teacher, it’s true.  But when that teacher comes along, we sure know we’ve met.  In many ways, that is the spirit of Dan Millman’s Way of the Peaceful Warrior (HJ Kramer, Inc., 1980).

I picked up this book after many years of hearing about it.  I have seen Millman speak, and know others who have read this book, and the other day, I decided to pull it off the shelf and read it.

Essentially, Peaceful Warrior tells the story of Millman’s journey with a mysterious gas station attendant, Socrates.  Millman, a student athlete at Berkeley, encounters this odd figure one night and is swept into a world that has always been right before his eyes, but just out of reach – it is a world where one can find happiness through discipline, and joy in a world of illusions.  Socrates’ teachings slice Millman’s perceptions to shreds, and challenge his fears, ultimately liberating the mind.

The goal of the book, as far as my experience with it, is not to get caught up in the details, wondering whether the book is a totally true and accurate account of Millman’s life, but rather, to consider deeply if what we believe is true at our deepest levels, or only at the level of illusion.

There is little ultimately new in this book in terms of teachings and philosophy, but that is not a knock on its content.  Rather, it is a recognition that the book’s tag line, “A Book That Changes Lives,” refers to looking at your old beliefs in a new way.  A way, in fact, that you may already know, but just need a kick start in remembering.  Indeed, ancient wisdom told in a new way is the hallmark of effective spiritual books, and Peaceful Warrior achieves this goal. For Millman, as the months pass under Socrates’ tutelage, his mind clears to a crystalline state where he can see a reality that was always there, but hidden under ego, fear, and perception.

And that is a great lesson for all of us.  If we have even one iota of the discipline of the sages we so admire, perhaps we can reach a point where we, too, can get past the illusion of living, and get down to the business of life.  Once there is an understanding that the world is so much more than we perceive, and that the inner world is more vast than our daily, limited experience, we can confront our true selves on a level that can bring happiness.

Lasting happiness.

Enter the world of spiritual books.  Even if it is from 1980, my guess is that not too much has changed…although, perhaps, you may change.

-josh