Roots of the warrior - part 1

This was a course that I taught in 2013 titled Roots of the Warrior.  I’ve decided to type out a good section of it to add to this blog because I think the information is pertinent enough in today’s world as I believe it was generations ago across continents and cultures.

The main focus of this course was questioning not only what a warrior is but the natural placement of warrior energy in the universe as we understand it. In a world where talks of peace are everywhere, how does warrior energy come into play and does it evolve through the ages – is it only found in the human form or does it exist in other areas of the natural world. This little series will address those questions and more while I delve into explaining this unique energy within this physical existence.

Like an ancient bristlecone pine that has stood for almost 5,000 years, enduring and surpassing all life has brought to its rocky slope. Like the foundations of a mountain that has towered above valleys assaulted by the elements and season, but still stands. The roots of the warrior, standing within the ragged edges of the world, in the shadows without inflated ego yet embracing a purpose that few can carry for long.

How does a warrior stand in today’s world of severe adversity and what exactly is a warrior? Where does the roots of the warrior come from, what do they feed upon and what holds them strong in the face of ages?

How can a warrior walk through life today in balance with the sheer amount of pressure from mass bombardment of wicked organizations, factions, energy manipulation, astral influences and the insanity of mixed messages from governments and media who on one hand condemn acts of aggression and yet on the other execute it daily?

Before we really get into the aspect of warrior energy and beyond that, to the actual roots of a warrior, we need to first ask questions. If we cannot really formulate a question, we will have little hope of discovering an answer.

The term warrior evokes a wide range of responses from people in today’s world. Some embrace it while others despise it. Most responses tend to be “knee-jerk” reactions rather than educated and measured ones, as with many topics in this world.

Below are a few opening questions. Feel free to ask yourself more. The ones supplied are just baseline starters.

Also found below are basic definitions of the flat terms warrior, soldier and war. But beyond the mere definitions we need to look deeper into the understanding of the differences between a warrior and a soldier. Many today think they are one in the same, but they are not.

Opening Questions:

• What is a warrior – what it means to you
• Based upon your above answer list people you feel to be warriors
• What is a soldier – what it means to you
• Do you feel yourself to be a warrior

Taken from the dictionary:
Warrior

1. A person engaged or experienced in warfare
2. A person who has shown great vigor, courage or aggressiveness, as in politics

Soldier

1. A person engaged in military service
2. An enlisted man or woman

War

1. Armed conflict between nations; warfare
2. Active hostility or contention; conflict
3. Aggressive competition in business or politics

Soldier = enlisted service – doing another’s will or bidding

A military or other group enlisted soldier is a person who has given up their personal power, identity, freedom, individuality and personal responsibility to be ordered, manipulated, controlled ruled by organizations that court armed warfare. A soldier is not a warrior. This is not belittling them at all. They have their place just as everyone else.

Anytime someone aligning with any kind of conflict gives their personal power over to an entity external of themselves, they lose the deeper connection to self and the connection they have to their higher intuition and spiritual alignment on a soul level. This automatically impedes their ability to make choices balanced upon the greater understanding of life. Instead a person then simply follows orders and seals off the “self” from the engaged action. Yes even a so called “supersoldier” is just a mind controlled slave and not a warrior. Keep this in mind as we continue.

But what is a warrior and where are they in history - anywhere people trained in associated skills and stood their ground against oppressors of their own free will and guidance.

Conflict

• Two or more parties with opposing interests engaging to create adverse circumstances.
• In a nutshell the very protocol for CHANGE

The warrior is always in the forefront of change. The warrior life exists in the volatile state of adversity; the very reason the roots of the warrior need to be adequately developed.

Warrior
An individual that invests adequate time, energy and focus honing skills of tactics and strategy for the purpose of gauging the necessity and inevitability of conflict within the continually expressive stature of life in such a way that they are fit to stand and lead by example.

As we move along in this series and you begin to think more deeply on what a warrior truly is, you hopefully will begin to look around you and within yourself to discover various aspects or perhaps full embodiments of what this series brings to light. But we have a lot to cover, so try not to make assumptions and jump the gun. Be patient.
 
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As we continue exploring the energy of the Warrior we must face the reality behind life’s expressive flow. Flow of energy equals Change which in-turn equals Conflict.

• Continual flow of energy =
• Change =
• Conflict

 
This is the process we see here upon earth and throughout the universe as we understand it.
Things/Energy wishing to stay the same Warring with Things/Energy wishing to change.

Continual energy expression in its own right is a form of War. It occurs on a cellular level as well as a universal one. It is a war against stagnation because life must move one way or another.

Varieties of war are endless and span all levels of existence. This means that the word Warrior must be expanded to meet such variety. Warrior must be defined by the very nature and variety of conflict they are so trained to engage in.

If the very foundation of life’s progression is conflict then where does “peace” fit in?

When we look at the expansion and expression, the self exploration of existence we find conflict, like growing pains. If we think about the necessity of conflict for growth and understanding we must then ask ourselves the position of “Peace”. Where does peace fit into the complex matrix of conflict?

Peace itself becomes rather a conundrum with conflict being the very essence of evolution. So what does that “new” term Peaceful Warrior actually mean and is that opposing title in itself a reality?

I wrote a small blog article question and pondering of peace not long ago. If you have not read it you might want to take a few moments to go back and have a look. Peace is what?
If you have not yet thought about what peace actually means to you, take a little time to ponder that before reading on.

Some definitions of peace in the dictionary are:

• freedom from war, from conflict, from oppression
• state of tranquility, serenity, stillness, silence

 
Where does peace exist in a state of continual evolution and the continual exploration of self? With that focus see how many areas in your current life contain a feeling of genuine peace. Then see if you can define exactly, exactly what it feels like on as many levels of your awareness you can.

Root:

• The fundamental or essential part
• The source or origin of a thing

 
Root of the Warrior – what do you think that means?

Some people are born with warrior natures. Others gain a warrior nature through life itself, but all warriors must be trained and thus pay the price to walk the wisdom of a true warrior. Nothing is free.
Each price is agreed upon or called upon by the individual. Each price forms a root that contains an understanding gained through the paying of that price.

• Agreement =
• Price =
• Root =
• Understanding

 
The true strength of a tree is found in its roots.

Prices are paid through training. We do not rise under adverse conditions to the level of our expectations. Instead we fall to the level of our training and what we have or have not paid.

So many people today wish a shortcut to everything, including stature, respect and skill sets, but fewer and fewer have the fortitude and attention spans to stick with something long enough to truly acquire any of those things. Someone cannot claim to be a warrior unless they have truly paid that price and many who claim that title have not. Actual physical testing however always collapses the air built bubble.

A warrior, like any other skilled person must train, be trained and acquire lots of hardcore physical hands on experience. Dreams and fantasy do not count. The word today is thrown around all too easily and empty, like many titles and a great many people holding those titles do not deserve them.
 
Warrior Progression:
Do warriors as a whole evolve through time? Were the samurai so different than true and trained warriors of today? You see it is not within the “class” of warriors that we need to look for growth. War is war and a warrior will be a warrior.

Growth happens within. The true growth of a warrior is individual, not group based. The best defense we have is the attack upon the self within the gentleness of rain, politeness of a flower, steadiness of the wind, silence of a dark forest, steadfastness of a mountain and relentlessness of fire. We must grow thyself from within through internal and external conflict.

There are stages of a warrior we must first understand before we can really question the growth process of warriors. These stages are the key to a warrior’s growth.

Stage 1 – External Battle
In this stage the warrior and weapon seek only the fight with others. Battle ensues and anything is used as a weapon and the warrior has no separation. Ego rules. The fight is all there is.

Stage 2 – Internal Battle
The hand and the body no longer master the external weapon. Now the heart and mind unify to become the true master of the weapon and the fight goes within. The external battle internalizes and fights the ego and imbalance of the self.

Stage 3 – No Battle
In this stage the warrior evolves past the want of the fight and abandons the weapon. The warrior abandons all conflict and attains perfect balance within. The deepest understanding of what a warrior truly is has been attained through prices paid, roots laid and explored. By fully living the existence of a warrior one has a chance to reach such a level, but just as a an old growth white pine must fully live the entire life and evolution of a white pine from seed to elder to gain that facet of wisdom, to attain the third stage of a warrior means a person must live their life as a warrior.

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The real question here is does a warrior grow through each stage in one life? Is the purpose of a warrior to move through the stages into completeness of No Battle? In my own view that is not the purpose nor is it possible for every warrior who comes to this earth. Not only is it perhaps not possible, but personally I do not think every warrior wishes to progress through each stage to the last.

If the point of existence is to explore every facet of itself then that means the facets that do not fully grow through one path of energy. It also means that all energy threads are not meant to complete themselves. A person may very well step fully onto the path of a warrior in this life, but later in their life they move completely away from that of a warrior and into another phase of energy, never having attained the third stage of a warrior. There is no right or wrong about it. The only thing that matters is that energy continues onward.

I have seen many warriors leave the path of a warrior long before they even reached stage 2. Just because someone has paid the price and became a warrior does not mean they will remain such throughout their lifeline. Others may remain a warrior through many “lifelines” if you will.

continued in - Roots of the Warrior - part 2