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Our struggles provide the best time of learning. Faith is the courage to live as, if everything that happens is for our highest good and learning. So whenever we resist reality or face challenges, we can remind ourselves : “Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows ?” This perspective can help us to relax more into life, into faith, into mystery. Because we simply do not know.

Through breath and relaxation, we can consciously fill our bodies with the light of awareness. We can also reduce the leaks of unnecessary tension, fidgeting, and idle chatter, and allow more energy (which some call prana, chi, or ki) to circulate in and around us. Then we, like Socrates, may exude a certain glow.

“The realm of the warrior” to which Socrates refers in this passage is not somewhere else, in a different dimension of time or space, or in a parallel universe. This realm is right in front of us, here and now-in this world, this life, this moment.

The realm of the peaceful warrior is open to all, and all of us find these gateways along the path. Passage requires heart, courage, clarity, energy, and attention. As the Buddhist patriarch Budhidharma, said, “All know the way, but few walk it.”

This way to which I refer is open to all-not some private, club based on status, popularity, wealth, or academic degrees. There are no colored belts to earn, nor is there one dramatic initiation; rather, there are many-all provided perfectly, within the context of our everyday loves. This universal path reveals itself in each passing moment, wherein we behave as peaceful warriors-or we don’t…..The great challenge of each day is to increase our moments of courage and kindness.

Spiritual laws describe how life works-they are the laws of reality. Reality is based not on our concepts of right and wrong but rather on action and consequences. In other words, if I ignore the law of gravity while mountain climbing or sky-diving, such ignore doesn’t make me a bad person, but it may have fatal consequences.

My primary point here is not to encourage anyone to adopt the exact dietary recommendations or other methods Socrates used in treating me, but to show how he opened my mind to new approaches to healing and to life.

“Nothing wrong with anger or any other emotion. Just pay attention to how you behave…Anger is a powerful tool to transform old habits…and replace them with new ones… Fear and sorrow inhabit action; anger generate it. When you learn to make proper use of your anger, you can change fear and sorrow to anger, then turn anger to action. That’s the body’s secret of internal alchemy.”

…We do not need to change our emotions; they are find and natural as they are. We need to change our behavior.

So let’s be gentle with ourselves as we turn knowing into doing, and as we learn to use our emotions (instead of the other way around). As Mahatma Gandhi said, “ As heat conserved becomes energy, our anger can become a power which can move the world.”

Still, addressing this most fundamental area of life-to find out what sort of diet works best for each of us-is a necessary part of the warrior’s path. Whatever our choices, we need to be conscious of what we eat, how and how much we eat, and when we eat. Right eating, like right breathing, posture, and speaking-needs to be addressed as we adapt our body mind to a fuller, deeper way of living.

“Proper posture is a way of blending with gravity….Proper attitude is a way of blending with life.”

Proper physical postures, referred to as asanas in yoga, are important to practice not just in classes but every moment of the day. Such conscious physical disciplines provide a strong foundation for practicing the peaceful warrior’s way.

Whenever we improve or refine one of our habits or behaviors, we may find that friends, colleagues, love ones, and peers take notice and offer comments or opinions. When one part of a system changes, it creates a pressure for another part to change, so it’s natural for others to react to our changes.

Walking a different path, no longer fitting in, can be a test of character. It may entail finding new friends who share our values. We have to deal with the fear that our changes in behavior or lifestyle may distance us from our spouses, partners, or friends. When moving into new and unfamiliar territory, explorers typically face the fear of separation, being cut off from the group. At times like these, we need to remember that we’re not all here to fit in; Some of us are here to lead.

Character is revealed through the choices we make under pressure. The choices we make and the actions we take after the honeymoon is over-when motivation fades and doubts arise-are the true tests of character. If our behaviors are aligned with our highest aims, despite resistance or boredom or fear, then we continue to persist just one more hour, just one more day, along the peaceful warrior’s way.

Even small changes can make noticeable differences over time. We may not be able to completely overcome genetics with lifestyle changes, but we do much good nonetheless. After an arrow files from the bow, the slightest course change in early or midflight will have significant impact on its eventual direction. Just so, overcoming limiting or destructive tendencies and habits pays dividends in both vitality and self-respect as the seasons pass.

We are each and all simply being who we are, and doing what we do. No praise, no blame. Just living and learning.

…”Ordinary disciplines” of the peaceful warrior’s way pervade all of daily life. And one of the most healthful practices we can do is to attend to continuous breathing-relaxed and rhythmic, like the swing of a pendulum- throughout the day. We don’t need to strain for deeper breaths but can simply practice simple, rhythmic breathing during all of our activities, letting the breath move the body. Such a practice may be simple, but it isn’t easy. Nonetheless, it’s another significant step on the path of personal evolution.