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2010 July-Aug The Wisdom Warrior Newsletter

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Bohdi

Misguided Youth -
Warrior Vision Quest

Native American warriors were responsible for the protection of their people and also had the responsibility for providing the basic material needs of their people such as food. There were no grocery stores for them to go to when the pantry was bare, nor any refrigerator or freezer to preserve meat over long periods of time; this was an ongoing responsibility and one which fell directly on the shoulders of the warrior. If the warrior did not or could not provide these needs, his family did without or depended on the charity of others. This lifestyle was one which defines self-sufficiency and was an awesome responsibility.

Native American youths had to learn the skills to provide for their wives and children; they could not afford to grow up as the vast majority of our young men do today – aimless, self-centered, selfish, and immature. Native Americans knew this. They knew that their youth were their future. There were no government supplying guaranteed health care. There were no insurance policies for their old age; their sons and daughters were their insurance and were expected to provide for them as they reached the point where their bodies could no longer meet the demands of this self-sufficient lifestyle. Educating their children as to their filial duties and to respect their elders was a major part of the Native American life-cycle.

The Native American tribal leaders understood something that people today neither understand or seem to care about. I am referring to the important role of a meaningful rite of passage into adulthood – the vision quest. In today’s society, most teenagers seem to connect the transition from youth to adulthood as a certain chronological age or the time when they are simply able to drink legally. Now there’s a great rite of passage, “I’m now an adult…Let’s celebrate and get totally wasted!” What a wonderful way to step into the role of adulthood. It is not the youth’s character or accomplishments which determine whether or not they have become an adult, but rather our all-knowing government’s determination that the youth has turned 18 and is now anointed “an adult” or now he is 21 and can legally drink his life away.

To the Native Americans, becoming “an adult” had more to do with an individual’s character and accomplishments than with his chronological age. The focus was on the internal character of the person; the vision quest had more to do with spiritual strength and proving oneself worthy of respect and admiration, than the mere fact that one’s parents kept him alive for a certain amount of time. The purpose of the vision quest was to allow the youth to transform himself spiritually and mentally into a responsible adult, and eventually a warrior.

The young boy would go away on his own for as long as needed, a period of days, to survive on his own and to acquire this spiritual knowledge and seek guidance for his life and his future. He would not be trusted with any adult responsibilities until he had proven himself spiritually fit to be an adult. During the vision quest, the young man would meditate and pray for guidance for his life. It was expected that he would meet his spirit guide, usually in the form of some animal which would for that point on, be sacred to him. This animal spirit guide would clarify God’s expectations for this young man and help guide him throughout his life.

The spirit guide was not randomly assigned, but rather came to the boy during his prayers and meditations while he was focused on finding his life-path. This spirit guide became a part of the warrior’s identity. When the boy returned from a successful vision quest, he would first visit with the tribe’s medicine man or religious leader, who would discuss his dreams and meditations with him. He would further help to direct his path. Then their would be a celebration for this boy indicating that he was no longer a child, but now a respected adult on his way to becoming a warrior, and he was expected to conduct himself accordingly. This was a crucial rite of passage and one which was taken seriously by all involved.

The vision quest focused the boy’s mind on becoming a man – on no longer being a child. During this adventure, he learned to rely on himself, he developed self-confidence, self-esteem, and courage. He learned to rely on God to both provide for him and to give him guidance through spiritual means. This was not merely his tribe celebrating his birthday, but this was rather a total transformation of the boy into the man, or at least the beginning of this transformation.

After the vision quest, the boy was then deemed ready to ride with the warriors and count coup to demonstrate his courage, another milestone in his transformation in this warrior culture. In short, the transformation from youth to adulthood was a serious matter and not something to be taken lightly. This was a transformation of a boy on his way to become a warrior.

This is quite a contrast from today’s youth which considers the transformation to adulthood simply a time to party, get wasted, and continue to do so for weeks, months, or years, enabled by parents who proudly declare, “You’re only young once. Live it up while you can!” Is it any wonder that our society is seeing such a decline in both morals and attitudes among our people? This party attitude has been dominant for several decades and we are now starting to see the results. We have missed the mark with our youth when it comes to educating them and guiding them into adulthood. We have taught our youth to be self-centered, selfish, arrogant, and shallow.

Parenting should be taken seriously – very seriously. And, although this will surprise many of you, I do agree with the African proverb which our corrupt politicians have twisted into a political barb, “It takes a village to raise a child.” The meaning of this was known to the Native Americans, but has been lost on our society. The true meaning is that every responsible adult should help guide our youth in the right direction when he or she sees a young person acting inappropriately. It has nothing to do with the government controlling families or individuals.

Care enough to attempt to help guide a young person if you see that he or she is headed in the wrong direction. You never know, you may just be the only guidance that the young person in question has available to him or her. Don’t just mumble something about, “young jerks” under your breath and keep going about your business – make a difference, or at least attempt to make a difference. Your words may not make any difference at all, but then again, they may completely change someone’s life.

This lack of guidance and quality parenting is the cause of many of the problems in our country today, and it has a domino effect. Maybe it is time to reconsider the vision quest or something equivalent, to give our youth a vision of how their lives should be lived. Nobody just happens to live a lifestyle of excellence by accident; it is something that has to be fostered and taught. The warrior lifestyle requires effort. It requires someone to teach the benefits and reasons behind taking the road less traveled. It is not the easy, party road, but rather to steep road where life is lived a little more seriously and with purpose and character.

Letting children determine their own path without any guidance is equivalent to not caring; if you care about their future or yours, you should take the time and effort to provide wise guidance for tomorrow’s adults. One way or another, you will be held responsible for you choice where this responsibility is concerned – the choice is yours.

Warrior Wisdom Wins Prestigeous Book Award

Warrior Wisdom: Ageless Wisdom for the Modern Warrior, the first book in the Warrior Wisdom Series, has won the 1st Place award in its category in the 2010 National Indie Excellence Book Awards! This is the first book award that the highly acclaimed Warrior Wisdom Series has won. These books have been highly reviewed and praised for their wisdom by people from martial artists to military personnel, and from teachers to housewives. It is a wonderful honor to also be recognized by the professional literary community.

If you haven’t read Warrior Wisdom yet, now is the time to find out what all of the buzz is about. Warrior Wisdom is not for martial artists only – the wisdom it contains is for everyone who wants to live a life of excellence. The excitement about Warrior Wisdom seems to be gaining more and more momentum and evidenced by this wonderful honor. To read the many reviews on Warrior Wisdom, click on this link: Warrior Wisdom Reviews.

The Noble Eightfold Path of the Warrior

1 – Right Understanding

Right understanding is essential to the warrior. It is not good enough to just memorize your martial arts techniques or to memorize some wise sayings. You have to go past rote memorization and get to the point of having a thorough understanding of the underlying principles behind your art and your values. Simply scratching the surface doesn’t cut it. In whatever you do, pursue understanding…correct understanding.

Knowledge without wisdom is a load of books on the back of an ass.
Japanese Proverb

2 – Right Thought

Science has proven that our thoughts are actually energy and have an effect on exterior things. No, I’m not just talking about the information such as the theories contained in the book The Secret. Our thoughts have a powerful influence on both our emotions and our body chemistry. Sad/depressed thoughts will cause the body to produce different hormones, enzymes, etc. than happy/excited thoughts do. This can even be measured in the composition of someone’s tears. Tears of joy have a different chemical make-up than tears of pain or tears of sadness.

In addition, your thoughts control your emotions and it is very important, especially for the warrior, to keep your emotions in check. If you doubt that your thoughts control your emotions, sit and meditate on something very sad for a while and see what affect it has on you, or put on some great music that you love and see if your thought pattern and your emotions don’t get a boost. Thoughts matter…

It is the mind which makes a man, or mares him.
Sai Baba

3 – Right Speech

This is a biggie! The person walking the path of the warrior has to watch his speech. It is so easy to say the wrong thing, especially if you are out of sorts. Be even more careful to watch what you say if you are angry or upset with someone. You can say something in a split second, which will cost you dearly for days, months, or even years to come. Right speech is a form of self-discipline. Simply put, it is self-control. Control your emotions and your speech, instead of letting your emotions control you or your speech. If you want the respect of others, watch what you say.

Don’t talk too much – your ignorance exceeds your knowledge.
Spanish Proverb

4 – Right Action

A man’s action is evidence of his creed. Every action that you take, everything you think, say or do, either brings you closer to your goals, or takes you further away from your goals, on the journey through the warrior lifestyle. Your actions matter. Make your actions right. Listen to your spirit and follow your intuition. Let your personal code of ethics and honor guide your every decision. Do the right thing, at the right time, and in the right way.

Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard
than anybody else expects of you. Never excuse yourself.
Henry Ward Beecher

5 – Right Livelihood

There is nothing more draining for a warrior than going to a thankless job, which he absolutely hates, every single day. This sucks the life from your spirit, the energy from muscles, and the vitality from your mind. Nevertheless, the warrior will continue to do his job to the best of his abilities until the right livelihood comes along. Finding the right livelihood makes life so much better, especially if it is one in which the warrior can feel he is fulfilling a higher purpose with his life. When you do find the right livelihood you will know it because work will no longer be work, but rather a passion for you.

The talent of success is nothing more than doing
what you can do well, and doing well whatever you do.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

6 – Right Effort

Buddha said that whatever you do, you should put your whole heart into your task, being diligent and energetic. Put forth your best effort. If it is worth doing at all, it is worth doing well. If the task is only worthy of a partial effort, why even bother with it. The warrior aims for excellence in all that he does; there is no room for half-hearted effort in the warrior’s world. If the mind and heart are right, the effort will be right.

Put your heart, mind, intellect, and soul even to your smallest acts.
This is the secret to success.
Swami Sivananda

7 – Right Mindfulness

Right mindfulness is very close to right thought. Right mindfulness is what you keep your mind focused on throughout the day. Are you focusing on your goals, your training, and becoming the best person that you can be, or are you simply daydreaming your time away? It is important to keep your mind focused in the now. If you continue to focus on what is happening at this very moment, you will not find yourself regretting the past or worrying about the future. Stay in the moment.

It is the mind that leads a man to power, not strength of body.
Crow Maxim

8 – Right Concentration

According to Hsun Tzu, the superior man is committed to focus. Learn to concentrate on what you are doing, and do only one thing at a time. Today, we are all too prone to multi-tasking, doing several things at once. The sages taught that to do two things at once is to do neither. In order to perform at our best, we have to give our total attention to the task at hand. Take care of one thing and then move on to the next. Concentrate all your thoughts on the work at hand. Concentration is key to proper martial arts techniques. Without concentration your technique will lack energy.

A concentrated mind will pierce a rock.
Japanese Proverb

Bohdi
Warrior Wisdom

Hedonism vs Sacrifice

Drink nothing to the dregs,
either of the bad, or of the good,
for to moderation in everything
has one sage reduced all wisdom.
Baltasar Gracian

What is the “good life?” What makes a life good as compared to bad? What characteristics determine whether a life is good or bad? I’m not talking about whether or not someone is a good person or a bad person; I am simply referring to someone’s overall life. Can you have a good life without being a good person? Well, I guess that depends on how you define a good life.

Return to the root and you will find the meaning.
Sengstan

If you define a good life as a life filled with purely hedonistic pleasures, then someone can definitely have a good life without being a good person. On the other hand, if you define a good life as a life that is to be admired for its sacrifice and service to other people, you can’t have a good life without being a good person. Thus, your definition of the good life determines what a good life actually is.

How do you define a good life? Is it a life filled with adventure, wealth, travel, and pleasures, or is it a life filled with sacrifice for your fellow human beings, filled with love, relationships, and good deeds? Do you see a life of luxury as the good life or a life lived with character and honor as the good life? There are lives that we envy because of their appearance of ease and hedonism, and then there are lives that we admire because of their character and honor.

Live as you will wish to
have lived when you are dying.
Christian Furchtegott Gellert

Life demands to be lived.
H. L. Mencken

For example, we may envy the life of someone who has millions of dollars for the freedom that it affords that person or for the luxury that his wealth can buy. This is a life that is obviously enviable. On the other hand, we may admire the life of someone such as Socrates who spent time teaching others, but ultimately died of poison in a jail cell. These are obviously two distinct kinds of lives: one to be envied and one to be admired.

Which of these would you choose for yourself or for your children? Well, I would not choose a life for my children where they have to spend time in jail under a death sentence, but we look at the life of Socrates with admiration. At the same time, I would not choose the life of Michael Jackson for one of my children either, although we may look at the lifestyle that his wealth afforded him with envy. So what’s the answer?

Beware lest you lose the substance
by grasping at the shadow.
Aesop

To me the answer lies in one word – BALANCE. The good life is one which is balanced. It has to be filled with more than simply wealth or hedonistic pleasures, and at the same time, it should be much richer than total sacrifice for others. You can actually have the best of both worlds. You can have adventure, travel, personal pleasures, and at the same time live a life of honor and character, which serves others and is fit to be admired.

Drink wine by all means,
but do not get drunk.
Confucius

The key to the good life is the same key that opens most of the locks in this world – BALANCE. There is no need to live an isolated life of poverty, giving all your time and money to others at the expense of your own enjoyment of life. At the same time, a life where you think of nothing but your own pleasure is a selfish life and not fit to be admired by anyone other than the shallowest of human beings. The good life is the life that you can both admire and envy. It is the best of both worlds.

Moderation is the key to lasting enjoyment.
Hosea Ballou

The secret of life is balance, and the
absence of balance is life’s destruction.
Hazrat Inayat Khan

Bohdi
Warrior Wisdom

To Die For

Greater love has no one than this,
that he lay down his life for his friends.
Jesus

There are not a lot of things in life that people are willing to die for. Not much is as important to someone as his or her own life. Actually, it is rare to find someone who is willing to lay down his life for anything or anyone else. As Jesus said, no man has greater love than when he lays down his life for someone else. It really takes someone with a special spirit to even consider laying down his own life for someone else. The true warrior is just this type of person.

The warrior knows that there are times which may require him to put his life on the line to protect those he loves. This doesn’t mean that he has a death wish or that he doesn’t value his life just as much as the next man, but rather that he knows that some risks are worth taking and some people are worth defending, even if it means putting your own life on the line. This begs to question, who is worth defending with your life and why?

The secret of success is before attempting anything,
be very clear about why you are doing so.
Guan Yin Tzu

Many people say that they “would die for” their spouse or their children, but would they really? When the hammer is cocked, would they really take the bullet, or is this some chivalric fantasy that they have in their mind? Are they living in their own little fantasy world where they are the hero or do they really have the courage and character to put their life on the line for those that they love?

Let’s make this even more personal; do you have the intestinal fortitude to lay down your life for those you love if it came down to that? How do you know? This is something that most of us have never experienced before, so how can you be sure that you would not fold under pressure? Is there even anyone in your life that you would be willing to put your life on the line for? Who? Why? These are essential questions for the warrior to ask himself before he finds his back against the wall.

First say to yourself what you would be;
then do what you have to do.
Epictetus

Most people never stop to think about these questions because it is not really a jovial exercise to imagine yourself dying, for any reason. Nobody likes to focus on their own mortality. To the average person this seems like an exercise in depression, but to the warrior, this is an essential practice. The knights of old did this. The samurai did this. These warriors did not partake in this mental visualization out of a morbid death wish, but rather as a preparation in case they ever found themselves in such a circumstance.

This is the same reason that you should give some thought and even visualization to this subject – to be prepared for such an event, even if it never comes. Being prepared never hurt anyone. Don’t plan on losing. Don’t plan on dying. Never visualize yourself losing, but at the same time you need to know when and why you would be willing to put your life on the line.

A man’s action is only a picture book of his creed.
Emerson

Who is worth this much to you? Why? How far would you go to protect those you love? Reflect on these questions and then prepare so that if you do find yourself in a situation where you do have to place your life in danger to protect others, you will ultimately come out victorious. Being victorious is never guaranteed, but preparation always increases your odds of succeeding. Don’t fold when your loved-ones need you most.

Courage is grace under pressure.
Hemingway

Cowards die many times before their deaths,
the valiant never taste of death but once.
Shakespeare

Bohdi
Warrior Wisdom

Jaded Trust

Except for those whom you know to be good
from experience or from a completely trustworthy source,
it is wise to deal with all people with your eyes wide open…
the important point is:
don’t trust anyone unless you are sure you can.
Francesco Guicciardini

Trust is a small word, but can have some major implications. Trust in its definitive essence, is a confidence or reliance in the good qualities of others. To trust someone means that you are counting on that person’s adherence to his sense of fairness, truth, and honor – traits which seem to be in short supply in today’s world. That may sound like a negative and pessimistic view of our world today, but actually that is not a new observation concerning the character of humans.

Sages and wise men throughout the ages have held the opinion that the majority of men are not men of good character, and therefore it stands, not men to be trusted, at least not in matters of importance. Wise men such as Gracian, Voltaire, Goethe, La Rochefoucauld, Lord Chesterfield, and Guicciardini, all espoused this viewpoint of men in general. They all admonished us to be careful of trusting others, especially in matters that are important to your well-being.

I would advise you not to trust either [men or women],
more than is absolutely necessary.
Lord Chesterfield

It is hazardous to trust others,
for he who trusts others will be controlled by them.
Han Fei Tzu

I did not acquire this distrust of men from reading the writings of these men, although their writings have reinforced my suspicious nature. After all, you can’t be too far off target if you agree with men such as these. Time and time again, I have found that my philosophy of expecting men in general (I use the word men as in human beings, females are just as untrustworthy as males) to be dishonest and untrustworthy, has proved to be accurate.

For of men it may generally be affirmed that they are
thankless, fickle,false, studious to avoid danger, greedy of gain,
devoted to you while you are able to confer benefits upon them,
and ready, as I said before, while danger is distant,
to shed their blood, and sacrifice their property,
their lives, and their children for you;
but in the hour of need they turn against you.
Niccolo Machiavelli

I realize that there are some who would say that I am simply manifesting what I expect from those I meet. I highly doubt that, but hey, I could be wrong. I prefer to approach the world with my eyes wide open. I have been conned too many times. Instead of seeing myself as a pessimist or a negative nail, I prefer to think of myself as vigilant in assessing the character of others. People in general don’t seem to put what is right or honorable above what is profitable or comfortable.

Generally men have higher respect
for their interest than their duty.
Francesco Guicciardini

This way of life does have some drawbacks though. I tend to be a little less open and much more suspicious of others than those who prefer to trust everyone until they give them a reason not to trust them. These people go through life with a rosier outlook towards people in general, but tend to get taken for a ride much more often as a result of their trusting personality. I have heard them make statements such as, “It is better to trust people and get screwed, than to go through life distrustful.”

Maybe it is. I don’t know. Those of you who have been reading my blog for a while know that I am definitely not perfect or infallible. I don’t have all the answers. I do know that trusting the wrong person, at the wrong time can totally change the course of your life, and not in a good way. The warrior has a responsibility to those who depend on him to be watchful and, to a certain point, distrustful of those who cross his path. He has a duty to protect those whom he loves.

Men are so false, so insidious,
so deceitful and cunning in their wiles,
so avid in their own interest, and
so oblivious to other’s interest,
that you cannot go wrong if you
believe little and trust less.
Francesco Guicciardini

Is this the most comfortable, happy-go-lucky way to go through life? No, its not. Is it the safest way to go through life? I think so. As with most everything, it is balance that truly matters. There is a time to trust others and a time to be distrustful. Always listen to your intuition. It will rarely steer you wrong. As I said, I don’t have all the answers, but I do learn from experience, and experience has taught me that the sages and the words of the wise should be listened to. It has also taught me that people are not to be trusted…but every now and then you have to take the risk to trust that you aren’t the only person in this world who is a true human being – a true warrior.

Trust the instinct to the end,
though you can render no reason.
Emerson

Experience is a good school,
but the fees are high.
Heinrich Heine

Bohdi Sanders
Warrior Wisdom

The Source

With men of understanding,
wisdom counts for everything.
Baltasar Gracian

Where does wisdom come from? Is universal wisdom useful across the board or does it matter who the person is who is imparting that wisdom? I guess there is some controversy where this is concerned. A well-known martial artist, brought this very issue up concerning my third book, Warrior Wisdom: The Warrior’s Path, this week. He felt that some of the people who I  quoted were not quality people and therefore should not have been quoted in my book.

Knowledge of the world is only to be
acquired in the world and not in a closet.
Lord Chesterfield

Any experience can be transformed
into something of value.
Vash Young

This begs the question, is wisdom wisdom no matter where it comes from or does the person, who has an insightful thought, also have to have to good reputation and a flawless character in order for that wisdom to be authenticated as true wisdom? Can a wino on a street corner have an insightful thought, and if he does should we discard it because of his shortcomings in life? This was the debate that my friend and I had concerning my third book…and we agreed to disagree and he refused to endorse my book because of this outlook.

A man may learn wisdom even from a foe.
Aristophanes

His last statement on the matter was that he didn’t think that “readers would be ready for Bohdi Sanders takes the words of sages and scoundrels and explains them in a way that might be useful.” We left it at that. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t purposely quote scumbags and give them credit for being wise men of strong character. No way! But at the same time, there are no perfect people. Being a history teacher, I could delve into the lives of our most beloved men, men who we consider top drawer, and find serious faults in their lives.

Arrogance diminishes wisdom.
Arabian Proverb

For example, the Apostle Paul had many Christians put to death before his conversion to Christianity. King David, who is accepted as the author of the Book of Psalms, arranged for the death of a man because he was infatuated with that man’s wife. I could cite example after example of dishonorable acts of men whom most of us have respect for, and whose writings we enjoy as words of wisdom. Do their actions take away from their words of wisdom or are their writings teaching us what they have learned from their mistakes?

It is quite possible to be a good man
without anyone realizing it.
Marcus Aurelius

I believe that the warrior should use wisdom wherever he finds it. Wisdom can come from various and unpredictable sources. Whether it is a five year old child or a wino on a street corner, anyone can have a profound and insightful thought. If we simply waited for that wisdom to come from someone with no faults, we would have a long wait. Instead of judging the person who imparts that insightful thought, wouldn’t it be better to judge the content of the thought itself? I think so…

Instead of searching for the faults of others, examine
yourself for personal faults that need to be corrected.
Sai Baba

True wisdom is universal. Should we discard an enlightened thought simply because we are not impressed with the person who is used to communicate that thought to us? To the warrior, the purpose of wisdom is to improve his life and his character. Even if that wisdom comes from  a five years old child, he is not too proud to take what is said and meditate on it and apply it to his life. The warrior is an independent spirit who thinks for himself and is not influenced by political correctness or the mind games that many people play.

What I must do is all that concerns me,
not what the people think.
Emerson

Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist.
Emerson

Our currency all comes from government sanctioned mints and has value no matter whose pocket it happens to be in at any given moment. In the same way, universal wisdom all comes from One Source and is useful in guiding the warrior on the warrior’s path. It does not matter who the carrier of that wisdom may be, universal wisdom does not lose its value. The warrior knows this and uses his spirit as a guide to the truthfulness and validity of the thoughts of others. He uses what he finds useful and discards what strikes him as “not quite right.” I am concerned with what is being said, not who said it.

Test everything.
Hold on to the good.
The Apostle Paul

A precious stone does not lose its value
simply because it has been dropped in a cesspool.
Japanese Proverb

Bohdi
Warrior Wisdom

Good & Evil

There are always two forces
warring against each other within us.
Paramahansa Yogananda

What does it mean to be a good person? What does it mean to be an evil person? We hear these terms thrown around often, “He is a good guy.” or “That man is evil.” But what do these things really mean? Are we even in a position to judge whether someone is good or evil? These are questions which seem simple to answer, that is until you start to truly examine them closer.

Moral philosophy is nothing else
but the science of good and evil.
Thomas Hobbes

While it is pretty obvious when someone is truly evil down to his core, it is a little trickier to know whether or not someone is really a good person. We know that some people are purely evil. People such as serial killers, ruthless dictators who kill thousands of innocent people, and politicians (I had to throw that in there!).  hahaha  The evil man is fairly obvious to recognize after his actions have been brought to light, but what about the good man?

How do you recognize a good man? Is it by his words? Is it the fact that he doesn’t kill or rob other people? Does his actions prove that he is a good man? What are the characteristics of a good man? People say all sorts of things, and have been known to lie… Many people refrain from breaking the law out of fear of punishment, not because they are good people… A man’s actions can be only for show…

Things do not pass for what they are,
but for what they seem…
Things are judged by how they look,
even though most things are far
different from what they appear.
Baltasar Gracian

Are you starting to get the point? It is much harder to truly know if someone is honestly a good person. The reason for this is that in order to know if someone is truly a good person, you have to have some insight into their spirit, their heart, and their mind. The truly good person is good on the inside. It has to get right on the inside before it can ever be right on the outside. This is where is gets tricky.

Good means not merely not to do wrong,
but rather not to desire to do wrong.
Democritus

How can you really know what is inside someone’s mind. What are his intentions. When you get down to it, it is a person’s underlying intentions which make him a good person or a bad person. Things are never as black and white as they seem on the surface. John Wayne said, “There’s right and there’s wrong.” This is true. Right and wrong are black and white, but being able to distinguish between the two is not so clean-cut. This is why you should be very careful about judging others.

A door must either be open or shut.
French Proverb

To every man there opens a high way and a low way,
every man decides the way his soul will go.
John Oxenham

We have to be careful about judging others simply because we don’t have access to all the information that we need to make a clear judgment. We can’t see what is in someone’s mind. We don’t know their intentions. Many people act in a certain way simply to maintain their cleverly constructed reputation, but this may or may not be who they truly are. It takes time and close association to really know someone.

The most exhausting thing in life,
I have discovered, is being insincere.
Anne Morrow Lindbergh

The good man is good inside and out. His actions mirror his thoughts. His intentions are pure, although many times the results of his actions may not go as he had planned. His heart is cleansed of malice. Whether or not someone is a good person depends on much more than whether he obeys the law or goes to church. Too many people judge people on these external traits without considering what is on the inside.

With sincerity, there is virtue.
Shinto Maxim

The first duty is to behave with purity of intention.
Sheikh Muzaffer

Don’t be too quick to judge someone or to label them as either a good person or a bad person. Just like every other decision, it is foolish to jump to a conclusion without knowing all the facts. Next time you are tempted to make a judgment or take someone’s word concerning someone’s character, ask yourself if you have all of the information that you need to make an intelligent decision about this person. Good and evil are black and white, but your ability to discern each is a giant gray area.

Appear as you are; be as you appear.
Rumi

Bohdi
Warrior Wisdom

Rose Colored Glasses

The sky is not less blue because
the blind man does not see it.
Danish Proverb

Everyone is the same… People are people… I have tons of friends… That kind of thing only happens to other people… These are all comments which I hear from people who “wear rose colored glasses.”  They see the world as they believe it to be or as they want it to be, not as it actually is. These people live in their own little fantasy world where everything is colored according to their viewpoint.

Is not the truth the truth?
Shakespeare

While it is true that we all see things from a certain point of view which is colored by our own biases or prejudices, we should make an effort to see things as they actually are. You may argue, what does it hurt if someone sees the world in a certain way, as long as they aren’t bothering anyone else? Well, in actuality it may not hurt them at all. They may live their whole life without their distorted beliefs affecting them. Then again, they may not.

Someone may see rattlesnakes as a loving, misunderstood creature. They may truly believe that rattlesnakes are not dangerous or poisonous. This belief, although it is untrue, may make them feel all warm, loving and one with the earth. It may make this person feel safe when he goes out hiking in the hills…and this belief may never have any adverse affect on this person at all, that is as long as he never find himself face to face with a rattlesnake or steps over a bush and is bitten by a rattlesnake. His thoughts do not change reality…

A light is still a light, even though
the blind man cannot see it.
Austrian Proverb

Likewise, this person may love to wear his rose colored glasses outside in his backyard and his white shed may look rosy to him. He may enjoy his perception of the nice rosy color of his shed. It may make him feel peaceful and relaxed or meditative and reflective…but none of this changes the fact that his shed is white. If he wants to think of it as rose colored, that is his choice, but he is making a decision to deceive himself.

Truth is exact correspondence with reality.
Paramahansa Yogananda

The same principle goes for other believes such as the ones which I listed at the beginning of this blog post. “Everyone is the same.” No, they are not. “People are people.” Wrong again. Different people have different moral values and many people do not value life as you or I do. “I have lots of friends.” No you don’t. “Those kinds of things always happen to other people.” Not hardly…

These kinds of thoughts may make people feel all warm and fuzzy inside. They may be socially acceptable or politically correct, but that does not make them true. And the same principle applies to these thoughts as it does to the guy’s thoughts about the rattlesnake…you may go all of your life without these “rose colored thoughts” affecting you, unless you run into someone who proves to you that your thoughts are bogus.

Truth doesn’t change because it is, or is not,
believed by a majority of the people.
Giordano Bruno

If however, this person runs into the stark reality of a gruff, scarred hand that reaches up an grabs those rose colored glasses from his face, he will be shocked to face the actual reality of the way things truly are. He will find out the hard way that his thoughts are flawed. This can be a rude awakening…

Facts do not cease to exist
because they are ignored.
Aldous Huxley

There really is no benefit in deceiving yourself. Isn’t is better to see things as they truly are? The truth doesn’t change simply because we refuse to see it or want it to be different. The truth simply is the truth. Things are as they are. You have the choice to see things as you will, but I highly recommend taking off those rose colored glasses, at least sometimes…

Truth will always be truth, regardless of
lack of understanding, disbelief or ignorance.
W. Clement Stone

Bohdi
Warrior Wisdom

Warrior Wisdom Book: Ageless Wisdom for the Modern Warrior

Listen to Your Spirit

Don’t follow the advice of others; rather,
learn to listen to the voice within yourself.
Dogen

This quote by Dogen, the famous 13^th century Zen master, is a little misleading at first. When you first read it, it seems as though Dogen is telling us not to follow the advice of others. What he is actually telling us is not to blindly follow the advice of other, but rather to listen to the advice of others, while at the same time listening to your inner spirit. It is wise to listen to the advice and opinions of others, but always think for yourself. Don’t act on the advice of others until you feel, deep in your spirit, that their advice is right.

Trust your instinct to the end,
though you can render no reason.
Emerson

Trust your heart…
for it is never untrue to itself.
Baltasar Gracian

This is what is meant by listening to the voice within yourself. Always trust your internal voice, whether you call it your “small quiet voice,” or your intuition, it will not lead you astray if you will learn to listen to what it is trying to tell you. How do you know what it is trying to tell you? You listen. You have to spend some quiet time alone, just you and your spirit. For many this is hard to do. We are so used to having some external stimuli constantly bombarding us today that silence actually can feel awkward.

Close both eyes to see with the other eye.
Rumi

This is a skill that has to be developed just like your roundhouse kick or your side kick. Can you remember when you were first beginning martial arts, how awkward some of the kicks and techniques were? Nothing that is completely new is comfortable at first. You have to practice new skills and techniques until you become comfortable with them and you develop a certain level of skill with them. The same thing goes for listening to your intuition or your spirit. As Hui Neng taught, “Look within…The secret is in you.”

The truth of a thing is the feel of it,
not the think of it.
Stanley Kubrick

Bohdi
Warrior Wisdom

The Enemy’s Strategy

What is of supreme importance in war
is to attack the enemy’s strategy.
Sun Tzu

Whether you are referring to war or business, if you want to win, you need to be able to counter your enemy’s strategy. You first need to know exactly what your enemy’s strategy is, in order to attack his strategy. Don’t just shoot in the dark. You need factual knowledge concerning what he plans to do. Take the time to do a little research and find out who your enemy is and what makes him tick. You must know your enemy. Know his weaknesses and his strengths. Know what his goals are and what he wants to achieve and why. Gather as much information on him as possible.

Method is more important than strength,
when you wish to control your enemies.
Nagarjuna

Once you know your enemy well, you are ready to start thinking of ways to disrupt his strategy. Only after you understand your enemy, can you begin to devise a plan to attack his strategy. Attacking your enemy’s strategy without doing your homework can backfire on you. You must be able to understand what is going on in your enemy’s mind in order to plan your own strategy. You must know who he is and how he thinks in order to predict how he will react and what his next move will be.

Our friends show us what we can do,
our enemies teach us what we must do.
Goethe

Things are not always as they appear to be on the surface. In fact, they are seldom what they appear to be. You must work hard to get through all the layers and find out what your enemy’s true purpose is. Don’t just discover his strategy, but look deeper and find out why he has developed this strategy. What is his ultimate motivation? What is his ultimate objective? Once you know what his motivation is and what his objectives are, you ready to develop a plan to counter your enemy’s strategy. Knowledge is power.

Do not be the victim of first impressions.
Baltasar Gracian

In planning, never a useless move;
in strategy, no step taken in vain.
Sun Tzu

(Taken from Warrior Wisdom II: The Heart and Soul of Bushido)

Bohdi
Warrior Wisdom

What Women Want

The wise focus their
attention inside.
Lao Tzu

I get a lot of emails, and many of them come from women who read my blogs or have read my book. One of the common topics that I hear repeated, not only in the emails that I received, but also in listening to conversations throughout my everyday travels, concerns what women actually want from a man. A lot of the emails that I receive are from female readers who say, “YES! The warrior is the kind of man that every woman wants! Where are men like this today?”

Let them know a real man,
who lives as he was meant to live.
Marcus Aurelius

It seems that no matter how hard ….Hollywood…., celebrities, feminists, etc. try to push the image of the metro-sexual male or the feminist man who has to depend on the wife to take care of things because he is a spineless, witless, buffoon, deep inside most women still love the stereotypical warrior which I write about in my book and blogs. They want a man who has character, integrity and honor. They want a man who has courage and who is willing to take care of them, provide for them, and protect them.

Now, I’m not saying that women want someone who simply wants to keep them pregnant and barefoot. That is not how the warrior looks at his wife or his girlfriend at all. If you have read much of my writing, you already know that. The warrior has the utmost respect for his wife and family. He spends time with them. They are the most important thing in the world to him, which is why he is willing to provide for them and protect them, even unto the death. No matter what other duties the warrior has, his wife and family always come first, if he is truly walking the path of the warrior. And this is something that every woman wants.

If you would be wise, provide for your house,
and love your wife in your arms. Fill her stomach,
clothe her back; oil is the remedy for her limbs.
Gladden her heart during your lifetime,
for she is an estate profitable to his lord.
Do not be harsh, for gentleness
masters her more than strength.
Give to her that for which she sighs
and that toward which her eye looks.
Ptah-Hotep

I realize that many of my readers will disagree with me on this point. They will want to argue that their duty to their country or their fellow soldiers comes first, or that their duty as a cop or a fireman comes first. To this I say hogwash! As a warrior, your first and foremost duty is to your wife and family, not your job or your profession. It is one thing to put other things first when you do not have a wife or family, but once you make that commitment, your priorities have to change. And this is what most women that have either written me or talked with me, seem to want – a man who is willing to put her first, a man that she can always count on to be there for her.

I can hear the feathers ruffling as I type, “What do you mean Bohdi?? Are you saying that I should neglect my duty??” Not at all, that is not what I am saying. What I am saying is that your wife and family have to come first. We all still have to work and do our job, and many times we had rather be at home with our family instead of working, but that’s life. This doesn’t mean that you don’t put your family first. Working is providing for your family, and is a necessity in life, but you had better have the pecking order straight in your mind. If you don’t put your family first, who will?

What I am saying is that the warrior walks by his own set of rules and values, his own code if you will. He has the courage to live by his own law. He isn’t a sheep. No one else controls him or tells him what does or does not come first in his life. He sets the rules and sometimes they may not jive with the norm of society. So what? He is not concerned with society’s political correctness or the way things have always been done. He is concerned with his personal duty, and he decides the hierarchy of his duties.

Highly evolved people have
their own conscience as pure law.
Lao Tzu

What I must do is all that concerns me,
not what the people think.
Emerson

The women that I have talked to want a man who is strong enough to decide what he believes in and who will stand for those beliefs. They want a man with backbone and character. They want someone who they can trust with their life, who they can depend on without question. Women want a man who they know is honest, sincere, and who will put their family first. A man who will honor and respect them is at the top of their list. No matter how much our “advanced” society pushes the image of the lovable buffoon as the image of the nice, desirable husband, this is not the feedback that women are giving me.

Do the character traits above sound familiar? Well, they do if you have spent much time reading my blog or have read Warrior Wisdom, they describe the warrior. The warrior is a man of honor, character, and integrity. He has a strong sense of filial duty and duty to his family. He is honest, trustworthy and sincere. He is a man of courage and has both the will and ability to back up his ideals. The warrior understands respect and honor, and they are a synergistic part of his life. The true warrior is truly the man that women describe to me as their perfect man.

The master warrior is
a man of character,
a man of wisdom and insight.
Forrest E. Morgan

Many women seem to go for the bad boy. Maybe this is because they really want someone who is a warrior, but their image of what the warrior really is, is skewed by movies and television. They consider a man who is rugged and tough to be the image of the warrior, but soon they find that this bad boy, is not a true warrior, but rather a thug. He lacks the character and principles of the true warrior, which is truly what women are looking for in a man. Soon they trade the bad boy for the nice guy, which although he may not be a warrior, he is at least not a thug and will provide a home for her.

Look for benefits that last.
Ten Bears

It is not enough to make something look good.
The underlying principle must be good.
Joyce Sequichie Hifler

What women are truly looking for is the perfect combination of the bad boy and the provider. The man who has principles, character, and is rugged and tough enough to protect her if the occasion arises. This is the picture that has been painted for me from the many emails that I have received, and it is the image of the true warrior – the man of excellence. Balance is important in everything, and I think that it is also important when it comes to what women what from men.

Stop talking about what the
good man is like, and just be one.
Marcus Aurelius

The superior man demands it of himself;
the inferior man demands it of others.
Confucius

Bohdi
Warrior Wisdom

Behind the Veil:
The Eye of the Warrior

Truth is Power.
Lakota Maxim

Is anything really as it appears? Unless you have first-hand knowledge concerning certain information, someone’s actions, specific plans, or strategies, do you really think that you know what the honest to goodness truth is? Most likely you don’t, even if you feel that you do. Unless you are actually privileged to the inside information, you are simply going on theory, hearsay, or worse yet, what the media spoon feeds the sheep.

Things are not always what they seem;
the first appearance deceives many:
the intelligence of a few perceives
what has been carefully hidden.
Phaedrus

There is a facade purposely put up to veil the truth from you. The warrior has to see this and take pains to the best of his ability to find out what the truth behind the veil actually is, especially if he is planning to act with conviction concerning some matter. Never act on half truths or after hearing only one side. This is a trait of the simple-minded and can come back to haunt you. You have to be careful about what you believe in these times of information overload. It can be hard to decipher the truth from distorted spin.

Instead of thinking how things may be,
see them as they are.
Samuel Johnson

Don’t rely on the label on the bag.
French Proverb

Things are not as they seem. Most everything that you read or hear has been carefully scripted and manipulated in order to accomplish certain goals. I have sucked into believing things which were emailed to me by trusted sources several times, only to find out later that the information was bogus. This can hurt your reputation as a reputable person. While it is true that most of us don’t have the time to do research and peal back the layers of falsehoods to get to the truth of the matter, it is a necessity if you are going to put your reputation on the line.

Things do not pass for what they are,
but for what they seem…
things are judged by what they look,
even though most things are far
different from what they appear.
Baltasar Gracian

This is yet another reason why the warrior is a man (person) of few words. You don’t have to give your opinion on every little thing that comes up in conversation. Nobody knows everything about everything, and it is folly to try to sound intelligent and bluff your way through a conversation in which you don’t have all the facts. It is better to be quiet and watch others through the eye of the warrior – the eye of the warrior can see BS from a mile away. Most people simply ramble on without knowing what they are talking about, and those in the know see them as fools.

At all times, look at the thing itself –
the thing behind the appearance.
Marcus Aurelius

Strive to get clear notions about all.
Seneca

It is much better to be objective – to hear both sides of everything, and then do a little research before you give your opinion, if you give your opinion at all. Don’t be swept up into the tide of popular opinion. Just because the majority believes something, does not make it true. Most of the time, the majority are in the wrong. Political correctness is not a sign of intelligence, but rather a sign of someone who is easily led and wants to be thought of as intelligent. Be a maverick and see through the eye of the warrior; slip behind the veil. The substance is always found behind the shadow.

Be not deceived with the first appearance of things,
for show is not substance.
English Proverb

Beware that you do not lose the substance
by grasping at the shadow.
Aesop

Bohdi
Warrior Wisdom

Opinions Vary

Fear not the reproach of men,
nor be afraid of their revilings.
Isaiah

People are fickle. They will sing your praises one day, and they will turn on you like a pack of wolves the next day. Throughout history, people have shown this same erratic behavior, and sages have always taught us, just as Chuang Tzu taught, to be indifferent to the praise or blame of the masses. Let their praise and blame roll of your back just as rain beads up and rolls off of a newly waxed car.

The wise live among people,
but are indifferent to their praise or blame.
Chuang Tzu

This advice sounds easy enough to do. After all, it doesn’t take much effort to ignore what other people say, right? Well, this is another piece of wisdom that is easier said than done. It is very enjoyable and ego-boosting to have people praising your work and patting you on the back. It is a pleasurable experience for people to tell you how great you are or how smart you are.

Likewise, it is a very uncomfortable feeling to have people attacking you and blaming you for this or that. It can be very stressful to have people harass you verbally. Being indifferent to the public’s opinions, either positive or negative, is something which has to be learning and perfected. It doesn’t come naturally.

I do what is mine to do;
the rest doesn’t disturb me.
Marcus Aurelius

Just remember that the same people who cheer for you today, would cheer just as loudly if you were about to be hanged. Don’t seek the approval of the public. Seek the approval of men of wisdom and honor. These are men whose opinions actually have substance. Above all, seek to live according to your own principles. Only you truly know if you are worthy of praise or blame.

A noble spirit will seek the reward of virtue
in the consciousness of it, rather than in popular opinion.
Pliny the Younger

Bohdi Sanders

Warrior Wisdom

Love & Annihilation: The Infinite Warrior Cycle

To do a great right, do a little wrong.
Shakespeare

I have often thought about whether or not it is possible to integrate the peaceful teachings of the sages with the total destruction that a skilled warrior can render on his enemy. How does the warrior balance the destructive, martial side of his life, with the calm, peace-loving, side which is taught by masters such as Lao Tzu and Jesus? As I have said many times, the warrior is a peace-loving individual. I totally enjoy the wisdom of the elders and try to live according to the teachings of the sages such as Lao Tzu, but how does one integrate teachings such as those found in the Tao Te Ching with what must be done to protect himself and those he loves in times of crisis?

This is a balancing act for the warrior, and one which requires time spent in meditation and deep thought concerning his personal code of ethics. He has to figure out exactly how far he is willing to go before he finds himself in a life-or-death situation. He has to determine what he must do to balance the teachings that are a part of his life, with the things which, at times, must be done in order to fulfill his duties as a warrior. This is a tall order and takes time spent in quiet contemplation for the warrior to fully come to grips with how to balance these two parts of his life.

For when moral value is considered,
the concern is not the actions, which are seen,
but rather with their inner principles, which are not seen.
Kant

Most things can be perceived in more than one way, just as the glass can be viewed as half full or half empty. If you find yourself in the unfortunate situation of having to get physical with someone, think of the reasons you must fight, not how sad you feel at the prospect of having to do damage to your enemy. Think of the duty that you have to protect those around you, not of your desire for things to be different. Think of what you fight for, not what you fight against. What you fight for determines whether your fight is just or unjust.

It is circumstance and proper measure that give an action its character,
and make it either good or bad.
Plutarch

Can this be done with love? Can a warrior walk in love as Lao Tzu, Jesus, Buddha, and others taught, while at the same time destroying his enemy? He can if his perception is right. When you must fight, think of fighting for those you love. This is the flip side of fighting against those you hate. Must you hate your enemy in order to stand for what you know is just and defeat him? I don’t think so. You do not have to allow your emotions to drift into anger and hate in order to use your martial arts skills. In fact, getting emotional can cloud your thinking and hinder your success.

The angry man will defeat himself in battle as well as in life.
Samurai Maxim

Remember to preserve a calm soul amid difficulties.
Horace

Control your emotions and your thoughts. This is the key to finding balance between the spiritual side of the warrior which tries to live according to the wisdom of the sages, and the physical side of the warrior which has the power to destroy. You have to know that your actions are just. A guilty conscience can be dangerous for the warrior. If he feels deep inside that his enemy’s anger against him is just, he will have a hard time going against this enemy. The warrior must stand on the side of justice, and when he is in the wrong, he must own up to the error of his ways, not continue to maintain a position which he knows is not right.

In critical times, one must be devoted utterly to the cause of justice.
Gichin Funakoshi

So, can the warrior balance the spiritual and physical duties of the warrior lifestyle? The answer is absolutely, but as with so much of the warrior lifestyle, it takes work. The warrior lifestyle is a lifestyle of excellence, and a life of excellence takes effort. It doesn’t just happen naturally while you are sitting on the couch watching television. You have to work for it. You have to take the time to develop yourself – spirit, mind, and body. It is up to you, nobody is going to do it for you. When it comes right down to it, nobody else cares. It is extremely rare to find anyone else who really cares about the truly important parts of your life. You’re basically on your own in this arena, as you are in most others.

Each individual is responsible for his own evolution.
Lao Tzu

Prepare yourself for you must travel alone.
Book of the Golden Precepts

If you are not willing to slow down and spend some time in quiet meditation and contemplation, you will never have a deep understanding of this essential balance. Exercise your mind, and think for yourself. This sounds so simple, but it actually takes more effort and discipline than your physical training. The mind can be hard to control. Control it nonetheless! Be the master of your thoughts, not mastered by your thoughts. Determine your code of ethics and find balance today.

One should know what our convictions are, and stand for them…
therefore it is wise to be as clear as possible about one’s subjective principles.
Carl Yung

Perfection is attained by slow degrees;
She requires the hand of time.
Voltaire

Bohdi Sanders
Warrior Wisdom

The Root of the Warrior Lifestyle

The superior man is watchful over himself
even when he is alone.
Chung Yung

Continual self-improvement is at the root of the warrior lifestyle. The warrior must be constantly improving himself in every area of his life. In Japan, this concept is called kaizen which literally means constant, never-ending improvement. Constant, never-ending improvement is exactly what the warrior lifestyle is all about. Warriors must strive to improve themselves spiritually, mentally, and physically daily.

One should be careful to improve himself continually.
Shu Ching

Many of the warriors from throughout history attempted to do just this in the lives. They took their spiritual beliefs seriously and spent time daily reflecting and meditating on those beliefs. They knew what they believed and why they believed it. Warriors made attempts to improve their minds through studying and learning during times of peace. Keeping their bodies fit and prepared for battle was a top priority, as was keeping their marital arts skills ready for when they might be called on to use them.

Return to the root and you will find the meaning.
Senstan

The same should apply to modern day warriors. Strive to be well rounded. Know what you believe in spiritually and make time for that part of your life. Do all that you can to educate yourself. Read and learn about a variety of subjects. Study books on wisdom and apply it to your life. Keep yourself in shape and make sure that you continually add to your martial arts skills and that they are sharp and ready to be used when needed. This is the warrior lifestyle. It is a lifestyle of excellence, not complacency.

Live rather than avoid death.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Everybody who lives dies.
But not everybody who dies has lived.
Dhaggi Ramanashi

It is all too easy to become complacent with your life. The demands and stress of daily life can zap your energy and cause you to just want to veg out. Our society offers multiple forms of escapism, from the computer to the television. It is so easy to just sit and stare at a box today instead of get up, dig deep, and find the will to work on the many areas of your life which need to be cultivated. It takes effort and it takes discipline, but it is worth it.

I am the master of my fate: I am the master of my soul.
William Henley

Next time you feel the effects of stress setting in deep inside your mind, draining your energy and your spirit, take control and remind yourself that your time is much too valuable to allow anything to steal it from you. No matter what your situation or circumstances may currently be, don’t allow depression to rob you of your precious time. Yes, this can be hard to do, but nobody ever said that the warrior lifestyle is easy. Failure is easy, but it takes work to live a life of excellence.

Take a deep breath of life and consider how it should be lived.
Don Quixote’s Creed

Bohdi Sanders
Warrior Wisdom

The Hunted

The hunter can make many mistakes, the hunted, only one.
Native American Maxim

Most criminals are predators. They “hunt” for the weak, the unaware, and the unprepared. They can afford to make some mistakes and still survive to “hunt” another day. It may take several “hunts” for the criminal to bag his prey, but he learns from his mistakes and continues to hunt, perfecting his skills as a predator.

The “hunted” on the other hand, cannot afford to make a mistake. He may not get a chance to learn from his mistake. The “hunted” has to remain alert at all times, being aware of his surroundings, constantly watching for the predators who seek to prey on him. One mistake may cost him his life. Taking the day off and relaxing could be a very costly mistake – one that he may never recover from.

Remember this: whoever lives a life of chance
will in the end find himself a victim of chance.
Francesco Guicciardini

This fact actually makes it more important for the warrior to have sharp self-defense skills. You don’t have the luxury of learning from your mistakes on the street. Those mistakes could be a permanent lesson. The warrior has to be ready for the attack. Even if the predator makes a mistake and fails in his quest, he can still do some serious damage to his prey, if his prey is unprepared. Many attacks can leave permanent damage without being fatal.

Don’t rely completely on any other human being, however dear.
We meet all life’s greatest tests alone.
Agnes Macphail

More satisfying far, that many depend upon you,
than that you depend upon anybody.
Baltasar Gracian

Trust God, but tie up your camel.
Hadith

The warrior has to be alert and aware of his surroundings at all times. He cannot afford to let down his guard. Why does the warrior need to be alert and aware at all times? The answer is because the hunter can make many mistakes, the hunted, only one. Will you be ready when you cross paths with the hunter?

I am the maker of my own fortune.
Tecumseh

(Reprinted from Warrior Wisdom: Ageless Wisdom for the Modern Warrior)

Bohdi
Warrior Wisdom

True Warriors

If you understand, things are just as they are.
If you do not understand, things are just as they are.
Zen Maxim

My friend Kevin, who is now serving in Afghanistan, once asked me what my ultimate definition of a warrior is. I understand that my definition differs from Mr. Webster’s definition, and it also differs from the definition that many people use today. I constantly get letters and emails from people telling me, in no uncertain terms, that I don’t know what I am talking about and have no business talking about what a real warrior is, after all, I am just some peon martial artist, not a soldier or a cop…what do I know about being a warrior! Well, if you define the term “warrior” as someone who is experienced in military combat, I guess that counts a lot of people out.

“Ohhh! Great warrior!
[laughs and shakes his head]
Wars not make one great!”
Yoda

My definition of a warrior, and the definition that I have deduced from the many, many writings passed down throughout the ages, both from military and martial arts sources, doesn’t define a warrior in those terms. My ultimate definition of the term “warrior” is someone who has the ability and will to fight to protect himself, his friends, his family, and his ideals, and at the same time, seeks the perfection of his own character through a life lived with honor, integrity, and an unflinching dedication to what is right according to his own code of honor which has been refined from intensive study and meditation. That is a lengthy sentence, but I wanted to have a one sentence definition of the warrior. In my opinion, this is a better definition of the true warrior.

A thing does not therefore cease to be true
because it is not accepted by many.
Benedict Spinoza

All truth passes through three stages.
First, it is ridiculed.
Second, it is violently opposed.
Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.
Arthur Schopenhauer

Warriors should exhibit the best qualities among men. The true warrior makes a firm decision to try to perfect his character and to live by a strict code of ethics. His word is his honor. His duty stays fresh on his mind. He lives life a little more seriously than most, but at the same time lives life to its fullest. He sees through the veil of appearances covering most parts of this world, but does so without looking down on those who are less perceptive.

Family and friends are important to him, and they know that they can always count on him for protection and help in their times of need. He bases his decisions on his code of ethics, and instinctively knows right from wrong, and chooses right. He knows that, at times there is a difference between what is right and what is legal. He is able to hold his head high with honor because he knows that he lives his life to the best of his ability, with honor and integrity. His code is ingrained in his spirit and is a part of his being. The warrior is a man who shoots for excellence in everything that he does.

The master warrior is a man of character,
a man of wisdom and insight.
Forrest E. Morgan

If you notice, the definition of the warrior, that is taken from description of the warrior’s character from throughout the ages, doesn’t require one to be engaged in military duty or law enforcement. Being a soldier or a cop doesn’t automatically make you a warrior any more than knowing how to throw a football makes you John Elway or Joe Montana. I know many cops and military people who I have absolutely no respect for…they are scum, pure and simple. Their job doesn’t change their character. I also know military guys and cops for which I have the utmost respect for. They are warriors in every sense of the word. It is not the job which determines whether or not you are a warrior.

You can be a warrior without being in a profession that requires you to enter into combat, and you can find your butt in the middle of a fire fight and be no more of a warrior than someone who finds themselves caught in a drive by shooting. I know that many of you will disagree on this…opinions differ. But let’s take a look at Webster’s definition of a warrior once more. By the strict definition both Nazis and Islamic terrorists would be classified as warriors. I know that many of you think that they should be. I know this from many of the attacking emails that I receive. I have had many people tell me that they absolutely are warriors, but that is asinine.

The fact that an opinion has been widely held
is no evidence that it is not utterly absurd;
indeed in view of the silliness of the majority of mankind,
a widespread belief is more often likely to be foolish than sensible.
Bertrand Russell

Nazis were not warriors. Sure they were soldiers. They were trained to fight. They may have justified their actions by saying that they fought for their country, etc. But were they really warriors? A warrior puts what is right above all else. He puts what is right above his marching orders. He thinks for himself. If his commander orders him to gas innocent women and children, or to murder defenseless, starving people, does he comply with those orders? If he does comply with those orders, is he so dense that he considers that to be morally right and an honorable act?

To avoid action when justice is at stake
demonstrates a lack of courage.
Gichin Funakoshi

Some have been thought brave,
because they were afraid to run away.
English Proverb

Are Islamic terrorists warriors? Many have argued with me that yes they are…after all, they fight for what they think is right. OH REALLY?!?! They think murdering innocent women and children is right? Well they may think that my stove is not hot, but you won’t see them sitting on the burner for an hour while they watch Bin Laden’s new propaganda speech. Just because someone thinks something is right or wrong, doesn’t change the truth. The truth is the truth irregardless of your perspective. These people also feel it is “right” to kill women if they dress or act in a way that they disagree with; just because they feel it is right, doesn’t make it right.

Truth doesn’t change because it is, or is not,
believed by a majority of the people.
Giordano Bruno

No, Nazis were not warriors. Islamic terrorists are not warriors. Just because they run around with weapons and know how to kill people, and claim they are just, doesn’t make them warriors. Soldiers? Maybe. Murderers? absolutely. Warriors? Not on your life. Anyone can take a gun and kill someone else. That doesn’t make them a warrior. A warrior entails much more than combat and killing. The warrior lifestyle goes much deeper than training. As I have said before, dogs and rooster can be trained to fight, but that doesn’t make them warriors.

The sky is not less blue because the blind man does not see it.
Danish Proverb

Truth will always be truth,
regardless of lack of understanding, disbelief or ignorance.
W. Clement Stone

There is a difference in being a soldier and a warrior. There is a difference in being a fighter and a warrior. There is a difference in being a cop and a warrior. You can be a soldier, a fighter, a cop, a martial artist, a cowboy, a teacher, or anything else that you want to list, without being a warrior. At the same time, you can be a warrior while being any of the above. You make the decision about whether or not you are going to be a warrior and live the warrior lifestyle, not your profession, not your training, and not your bloviating, opinionated friend who thinks that he is the ultimate authority on the subject because of his past experiences.

My friend Kevin is a true warrior, not because he is in Afghanistan fighting, but he is a true warrior who is in Afghanistan fighting. There is a difference. Would Kevin be less of a warrior if he were back at home driving a tractor or teaching in his local high school? Would that all of a sudden change his abilities, his character or his code of honor? A warrior is a warrior, no matter where he is or what he may be doing. That is just who he is. Moreover, a man who is not a warrior is not a warrior, even if he finds himself on the front lines. Things are not as black and white as most people would like to think…

A change in scenery does not change one’s character.
Aesop

We never fully grasp the importance
of any true statement until we have a clear notion
of what the opposite untrue statement would be.
William James

Bohdi
Warrior Wisdom

Becoming Clear

Muddy water, let stand, becomes clear.
Lao Tzu

Stress, worry, anxiety, and fear can cloud your mind. When these emotions are allowed to take control of your mind, it is hard to see things clearly or make good decisions. Your mind can’t focus and will began to become “muddy” if you will. It is hard to think rationally when your mind is bombarded with these emotions. Just as a crystal clear lake can become muddy when the sediment at the bottom is disturbed, your mind will become “muddy” when it is disturbed.

Don’t let trifles disturb your tranquility of mind…
Ignore the inconsequential.
Greenville Kleiser

Quit minds cannot be perplexed or frightened
but go on in fortune or misfortune at their own private pace,
like a clock during a thunderstorm.
Robert Louis Stevenson

So what do you do to clear your mind when it has become cloudy from these emotions? Do the same thing as the lake does to become clear again – nothing. The lake simply waits for the muddy sediment particles to settle back where they belong, and once again the lake becomes crystal clear. You should do the same thing. Quit thinking about the issue at hand. Just put that subject on the shelf for a while. Do something else like meditate, work in the garden, work out, etc.

Don’t let worldly thoughts and anxieties trouble your mind.
Ramakrishna

Only in quiet waters things mirror themselves undistorted.
Only in a quiet mind is adequate perception of the world.
Margolis

It really doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you get your mind off of the problem that is causing these emotions to cloud your thinking. Just get away from it and allow the mud to settle. When you come back, your mind, like the lake, will have cleared up and you will be able to see things differently. Once again, you will be able to think rationally and intelligently, the way the warrior should think.

The mind deludes itself.
In matters of the mind, you must stay on your guard.
Takuan Soho

The key here is to be patient. You can’t make the mud settle back to the bottom of the lake by pushing it back down; it has to settle on it own, at its own pace. Likewise, you can’t force yourself to clear your mind of stressful thoughts, unless you are proficient in meditation techniques and mind control. You have to just get away from those thoughts for a while, and the easiest way to do that is to get your mind on something else.

The secret of patience is to do something else in the meantime.
Spanish Proverb

Your mind can’t hold two different thoughts at the same time. Don’t believe me? Just try it… Think of a picture of a dog while at the same time you think of a picture of an elephant. Were you successful? The same thing goes for negative, stressful thoughts. If you are thinking of something else, they can’t remain in your mind. Sounds simple, but it is true. Next time you find that your mind is clouded by negative thinking, get busy doing something else, even if it is cleaning your house. Hey, if it doesn’t work, at least you will have a clean house, either way you win…

Be master of the mind rather than mastered by the mind.
Zen Maxim

Bohdi Sanders
Warrior Wisdom

Thought Control

The soul is dyed the color of its thoughts.
Heraclitus

Many people believe that their thoughts don’t really matter. They think that their thoughts don’t matter as long as they don’t act on their negative thoughts. What they fail to realize though is that everyone’s thoughts contain certain energy patterns. Physicists are now proving that your thoughts actually do have power; they are not just harmless little things that don’t matter.

Thoughts are forces.
Ralph Waldo Trine

Every single thought you have can be assessed in
terms of whether it strengthens or weakens you.
Wayne Dyer

Heraclitus knew this many centuries ago. He tells us that your thoughts have an effect on your soul. He goes on to say, “The content of your character is your choice. Day by day, what you choose, what you think and what you do is who you become. Your integrity is your destiny…it is the light that guides your way.” Your thoughts are much more important to your character development than you may suspect.

Be careful of your thoughts;
they are the beginning of your acts.
Lao Tzu

The whole dignity of man is in thought.
Labor then to think right.
Pascal

Thought precedes action. Many scientists today believe that if you continue to think about something, what you think about will eventually find a way to manifest itself in your life. If this is true, it means that what you think about is extremely important. It has already been proven that your thoughts control your emotions, thus to control your emotions, which every warrior must do, you must control your thoughts. Controlling your thoughts is the ultimate test of your self-discipline. Control your thoughts; control your destiny.

When we direct our thoughts properly,
we can control our emotions.
W. Clement Stone

You should keep your mind pure, for what a person things,
he becomes – this is the eternal mystery.
The Maitri Upanishad

Understand that what you think about expands.
Wayne Dyer

Reprinted from
Warrior Wisdom: Ageless Wisdom for the Modern Warrior

Bohdi
Warrior Wisdom

The Cycle of Democracy

In proportion as the structure of government
gives force to public opinion, it is essential
that public opinion should be enlightened.
George Washington

About the time our original 13 states adopted their new constitution, in 1787, Alexander Tyler; a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinburgh, had this to say about the fall of the Athenian Republic some 2,000 years prior:

“A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship.”

“The Average age of the worlds greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence:
1. From bondage to spiritual faith;
2. From spiritual faith to great courage;
3. From courage to liberty;
4. From liberty to abundance;
5. From abundance to complacency;
6. From complacency to apathy;
7. From apathy to dependence;
8. From dependence back into bondage.”

Professor Joseph Olson of Hamline University School of Law, St. Paul, Minnesota, points out some interesting facts concerning the 2000 Presidential election:

Population of counties won by: Gore-127 Million; Bush-143 Million;
Square miles of land won by: Gore-580,000; Bush-2,427,000
State won by: Gore:19; Bush:29
Murder rate per 100,000 residents in counties won by: Gore-13.2; Bush-2.1

Professor Olson adds: “In aggregate, the map of the territory Bush won was mostly land owned by the tax-paying citizens of this great country. Gore’s territory mostly encompassed those citizens living in government-owned tenements and living off government welfare…” The difference in the 2004 was even more in favor of Bush!

Olsen believes the United States is now somewhere between the “complacency and apathy” phase of Professor Tyler’s definition of democracy, with some 40% of the nation’s population already having reached the “governmental dependency” phase.

What brings empires down is the empires themselves. There is a never ending cycle that leads from destruction to rebirth and back again to start the process over. The wisest words of wisdom are: “And this too shall pass.” As in all things, this will pass and we will go back full circle.

None are more hopelessy enslaved
than those who falsely believe they are free.
Goethe

Bohdi Sanders
Warrior Wisdom

Decline of the American Empire?

It is seldom that liberty of any kind is lost all at once.
David Hume

In 1788 Edward Gibbon wrote about five basic reasons for the decline of the Roman Empire. As I read these five summations, I distinctly saw a correlation between the changes which occurred prior to the decline of the Roman Empire and what is happening in America today. The parallels are amazing and to be honest, more than a little frightening. The five reasons which Gibbon wrote about are listed below and are expanded on in this blog. I am interested in reading your opinions on the correlation between what happened in Rome and what appears to be happening in modern day America. Enjoy!

Five Basic reasons for the Decline of the Roman Empire:

1) The undermining of the dignity and sanctity of the home.

2) Higher and higher taxes: the spending of public money for free bread and circuses for the populace.

3) The mad craze for pleasure, with sports and plays becoming more exciting, more brutal and more immoral.

4) The building of great armaments when the real enemy was within – the decay of individual responsibility.

5) The decay of religion, whose leaders lost their touch with life, and their power to guide the people.

Edward Gibbon
1788 “Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire”

1) The undermining of the dignity and sanctity of the home.

The warrior, whether a man or a woman, should be in total control of the home environment, in as much as it is in his power to do so. The warrior should see to it that his children are brought up knowing right from wrong, and having total respect from his children. Undermining this respect undermines the warrior’s ability to pass on the ethics which he knows his family should live by. So, in reality, undermining the warrior’s respect and ability to instruct his children, undermines his ability to pass on his standards, his code of honor to his children. It essentially ties his hands and allows the state to dictate its ethics to his children, instead of the warrior’s ethics.

The people never give up their liberties but under some delusion.
Edmond Burke

When the government’s ethics replace the warrior’s ethics in the home, the sanctity of the home has been breached and the family unit is in danger of falling apart. You lose the closeness of the family. You lose the respect for the father or mother that is in charge of the family. Children start to believe that their parents are unreasonable when what they say is opposed to what they are being told by the schools and the government officials. The government falsely believes that the undermining of the sanctity of the home gives them more control over people, but in reality it weakens the country because it weakens the moral character of the citizens.

In regards to your son’s behavior, it is wrong for a parent to scold a child for misdeeds if the parent has not corrected his own mind. You must first of all conduct yourself properly. Then, if you admonish your son, his behavior will improve naturally and your younger son will be sure to learn from his brother’s example and improve his behavior as well. It is truly auspicious when father and sons become virtuous together.
Takuan Soho

You don’t think that this is going on in our country? Have you checked out the television lately? The husband/father is no longer portrayed at the wise man who can teach the children wisdom and take care of problems. There is no more Andy Griffith or Ward Cleaver. On the contrary, the husband/father is more often presented as the dumb buffoon, nothing more than another child for the wife to keep in line and take care of. He is no longer the wise warrior, but the wimp, and a wimp of low moral character and a low IQ. Ever wonder why this image has changed in our entertainment? Has it changed in our families as well?

Father’s must strive with their whole being, with all their heart diligence and wisdom, to make their children honest and high-principled…it is mainly up to the father to make the children honest, virtuous, and honorable.
Leon Battista Alberti

2) Higher and higher taxes: the spending of public money for free bread and circuses for the populace.

Well, this one definitely hits home in our country today. The government not only wants to take more and more of your money through taxes, but it also completely misuses the tax revenue which it takes out of your pockets. Don’t believe me…just do a little research on some of the things which your tax money is spent on. I won’t even get into the debate over whether the billions and billions of dollars we are spending in Iraq is right or wrong, or whether it is making any of us safer here at home. That is a debate that I will leave to another blog. We can completely leave Iraq out of this equation and still find billions and billions of dollars which have been misappropriated.

Find out just what people will submit to and you have found out
the exact amount of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them.
Frederick Douglas

If you do a little research on how your tax money is spent, you will find it is almost comical, except for the fact that it is so pathetic. It is all a game to our politicians. They aren’t looking out for you or your children. Our politicians have their own little agendas and your tax money is the vehicle that they use to achieve their agendas. Free bread and entertainment for the populace…you bet, just long as the populace votes to keep them in their cushy job. Not enough tax revenue to fulfill their agenda…no problem, they will just put it on the governments “credit card.” Who cares…let our grandkids worry about the bills when they grow up. Wow, talk about irresponsible behavior.

The superior man asks nothing from any but himself.
Confucius

We have billions of dollars of repairs in old infrastructure that is waiting to be done. Bridges need to be replaced. Sewers and water pipes under our cities need to be replaced. Our borders need to be secured. Yet our politicians squander our money like it is an endless supply of candy. The day will come when these careless actions will come back to bite us. There are always consequences. We should hold the politicians responsible, but we are all too busy living our own life, and so these men of low character get a free pass to do as they will. How long will we let them slide? How long before it is too late to correct the problem?

The power to tax involves the power to destroy.
John Marshall

The greatest fruit of self-sufficiency is freedom.
Epicurus

3) The mad craze for pleasure, with sports and plays becoming more exciting, more brutal and more immoral.

We haven’t gone to the extent that the Romans did…yet, but we seem to be headed in that direction. Our sporting events have become much more brutal. Our movies have become more and more graphic and bloody. It seems that it is taking much more to excite and shock our population. Things which would have appalled citizens 40 or 50 years ago now come directly into our homes on a daily basis. We have become numb and desensitized to much of the brutality and blood and guts that we see in our entertainment.

Pleasures are temporary but virtues immortal.
Periander

I remember the first time my wife and I watched Braveheart in the theater. She got nauseous during some of the battle scenes. The second time that we watched the movie, the blood and guts didn’t affect her at all. It didn’t take much to desensitize her concerning the gore contained in that movie. The same thing happens to us when we watch other forms of entertainment. The first few times it may be shocking, but after that it becomes the “same old, same old.” When that happens, expect those in the entertainment world to push the envelope just a little further in an attempt to once again shock and excite you.

Immorality in the house is like a worm in the vegetables.
The Talmud

How many more years before we decide that we are tired of convicts living on our tax dollars and they should maybe earn their food and shelter? Hey, I know, they could entertain us…gladiators anyone? Movies have already been made about this possibility. The Romans used criminals for entertainment both as gladiators and as simple sadistic entertainment. They had no empathy for criminals at all and didn’t think that there was anything wrong with watching criminals tortured to death for entertainment…after all, they were criminals, who cares…

Trickling water, if not stopped, will become a mighty river.
Confucius

Your descendants shall gather your fruits.
Virgil

4) The building of great armaments when the real enemy was within – the decay of individual responsibility.

We have built up our military to be the ultimate military machine in the world. (This statement could have been spoken by many of the Roman Emperors.) The United States military has the power to totally destroy any enemy that comes against it, but does that mean that we are really safe in this country? Even though our military has become stronger, our country and our patriotism have become weaker. We are not only divided between red and blue states, and red and blue voters, but also on racial lines, religious lines, sexual lines, just to name a few of the issues which people seem to be so interested in today.

One’s own faults are one’s mortal enemies.
It follows that to guard against them is life’s gravest concern.
Tiruvalluvar

Everybody seems interested in their own little group’s agenda, but not many of them appear to be too interested in taking care of their individual responsibility. Political correctness has replaced common sense and rational thought. We have to be sure not to offend any one person; even if 20,000 other people pay for that one person’s feelings. Since when did it become a crime to offend someone? If it offends you that someone says or does something that you don’t believe in, GET OVER IT! Our country guarantees you the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; it doesn’t guarantee that you will never be offended.

They that give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety
deserve neither liberty nor safety.
Benjamin Franklin

If you are offended that someone wears a cross on a necklace to school…GET OVER IT! If you are offended that someone wears a pentagram on a necklace to school…GET OVER IT! If you are offended that our currency says “In God We Trust”…GET OVER IT! If you want to believe in God, believe in God. If you want to believe that when you die you are nothing more than worm food, believe it. But whatever you believe, quit being offended at every little thing that someone else does or believes. Take care of your own individual responsibilities and let other people worry about their own actions. You choose whether or not to be offended…choose not to be.

Highly evolved people have their own conscience as pure law.
Lao Tzu

Our country seems to be like an alcoholic bodybuilder…outside he looks buff and can kick your ass, but inside he is rotting away and if he doesn’t change, he will not stay strong very much longer. Our true enemy is within. It is our divisiveness. It is our own population who refuses to allow each person to be responsible for their own actions. Yes, we have some real enemies in this world, but if we, as a country were united, no enemy could stand against us. There are too many agendas. There are too many worms in the apple. A house divided cannot stand…

Thatch your roof before rainy weather; dig your well before you are thirsty.
Chinese Proverb

Keep a watchful eye over yourself as if you were your own enemy.
Kahlil Gibran

5) The decay of religion, whose leaders lost their touch with life, and their power to guide the people.

Wow, should I even touch this one? I have probably rubbed half of my readers the wrong way already…I think that this one is pretty obvious in our country. Each year we see another scandal where this preacher or that preacher has done one thing or another that has gone against what he preaches. Just last year here in Colorado, a well-know preacher who constantly slammed gay people and the gay lifestyle, was found to have had several gay affairs. Talk about hypocrisy! If you are going to preach something, then you should live by it yourself. Don’t be a hypocrite. Hypocrisy has rendered religion’s power to guide the people impotent. Who wants to listen to someone who doesn’t live by the same rules that they command you to live by?

Many have quarreled about religion that never practiced it.
Benjamin Franklin

I don’t think that it was a decay of religion that brought Rome down, but rather decay in individual morality and integrity. I see the same things today; people go to church every week, in fact, the churches appear to be full, but how many of the people in those churches practice what they preach? How many take their personal code of honor seriously? I can answer that for you…not many. Whoa, we are back to individual responsibility. Get that pile of manure off of your own porch before you complain about the dust on your neighbor’s table…

One must make a distinction between what God himself said
and what the clergy has said in His name.
Claude Henri de Touvroy

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -
I took the one less traveled by and that has made all the difference.
Robert Frost

Bohdi Sanders
Warrior Wisdom

IF

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream – and not make dreams your master;
If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings – nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And – which is more – you’ll be a Man, my son!

Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;

The warrior has to keep a calm mind in everyday life and in emergencies. Thinking rational is vital to the warrior. Others may panic over the situation; they may point the finger at you, but nonetheless, you have to keep your mind calm. Be a rock in the midst of the storm. Don’t allow some else’s panic to become yours; just continue to stay the course and meet each obstacle with a calm and rational mind.

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;

As a warrior, you have to spend time meditating on your sense of right and wrong, and your code of honor. You don’t do this in order to feel superior to others, although living life by these standards will make you superior, or as Confucius said, “A superior man.” The reason that you need to meditate on your standards of honor and integrity is to develop this trust in your sense of right and wrong. You have to know why you live according to your code. You have to develop trust in your sense of right and wrong.

At the same time though, you have to be able to understand that the majority of people do not live life this way. They do not spend time meditating on how they should live their life, or what determines what is right or what is wrong. Don’t expect others to understand you, but you should be wise enough to understand others. They will doubt you and your way of life, that’s ok; just don’t doubt yourself. Demand honor and integrity from yourself, but don’t demand it from those who do not understand the concepts.

Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;

People will lie about you and they will hate you for standing up for your principles and not being willing to bend where your integrity is concerned. This is not your concern. Your job is to do what you know is right. You are responsible for YOUR actions, not the actions of other people. If they lie, it doesn’t give you the green light to lie. If they hate, it doesn’t give you the ok to hate them back. You do what you know you should and let them be responsible for their own actions.

Although you understand this, it is important not to make a show of your understand. You don’t want to go around acting like you are better than others or wiser than others, even though you may be. Just simply understand that your job is too concentrate on living your life the best that you can, not to correct the faults of others. If they ask for your advice, give it. If they don’t ask for your advice, keep it to yourself. Nobody likes someone who makes them feel inferior.

If you can dream – and not make dreams your master;
If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim;

It is ok to dream and have goals, but at the same time you have to actually live your life in the present moment, not just dream for the future and sit around and wait for things to be perfect before you start to live. You should have dreams and goals. You should spend time in thought and meditation…but at the same time, you can’t only do these things. You must live life to the fullest, rather than live in a fantasy world constructed in your mind.

If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;

Good things will happen. Bad things will happen. This is life. Just live life and understand that you will have ups and downs, and neither will be the “be all, end all” in your life. They are just part of life. You should enjoy your triumphs and you must endure the disasters which will most likely cross your path. These are just part of life. Live your life to the fullest. Don’t get too high or too low, but rather just deal with each and every event in your life the best that you can.

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools;

People will take your words and twist them around to make you look bad or simply to start controversy. And yes, fools will believe what they say. They will look at only one side of the coin because they aren’t wise enough to look beyond what is presented to them as truth. People will attack and try to destroy the things which you stand for; men of honor are frequently attacked for their beliefs. Just expect it and learn to deal with it. That is the way it is. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that you continue to walk the path of the warrior.

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;

Don’t put too much importance on material things. Material things come and go; they aren’t permanent. The sages tell us that your good name, your character, and your honor are permanent, but not things such as your wealth, your health, or your looks. Therefore you should be more concerned about things which are lasting, as opposed to things which are fleeting. Make sure that you have your priorities straight. Know what is really important and what is not.

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”

What forces you to continue when you have nothing left? What is it in a man that will give him the strength to continue to fight even when his body can no longer function? It is his warrior spirit or as Kipling says, “The Will.” No matter what is going on in your life, don’t quit. Don’t give up. Things change and they will change when you least expect them too. You don’t want to find that you have quit on minutes before your victory. Be stubborn and make your warrior spirit your courage.

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings – nor lose the common touch;

Do not let the actions of others affect you. Be yourself. Live according to your standards, whether you find yourself in the company of scumbags or the President. The warrior shouldn’t live one way around high class people and one way around low class people. He is not a chameleon. He should have enough confidence in his way of life to walk by his code in whatever company he finds himself in.

Don’t lower your standards just to suit those who live by lower standards, and don’t think so highly of yourself that you can’t carry on a civil conversation with those who obviously do not understand the way of the warrior. The warrior shouldn’t put his honor and a shelf when it is inconvenient or put it on for show simply to impress someone else. Don’t appear to be a man of honor; be a man of honor.

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;

Understand that people will do and say hurtful things and that there are a multitude of reasons and factors behind their actions. Try not to take their actions personally. Most of the time their actions have nothing to do with you, they are just venting and they don’t really mean what they say or do. Remember, not everyone lives by the same high standards that you live by. Don’t let the actions of other affect you.

Yes, I know this is a tall order, but you will find more peace if you are able to let others’ word and actions roll off your back like water off a duck. Don’t put too much faith in anyone else. You should treat everyone with respect, but don’t expect the same in return. Again, you take care of your actions and your words, and don’t expect perfect from others.

If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run -

Live in the NOW. Don’t waste your time. You only live once in this life and you should live it to the fullest. Don’t allow fear, laziness, self-consciousness, worry, etc. to interfere with you living your life the way that you truly want to live it. As Kipling said, the minute is unforgiving. If you don’t use it, you lose it. There is no second chance.

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And – which is more – you’ll be a Man, my son!

And a true man is a true warrior. Enough said…

Bohdi Sanders
Warrior Wisdom

Wisdom of the North:
The Havamal

The majority of people today have never heard of the Havamal. I have spent many, many hours researching wisdom from different parts of the world only to find that, for the most part, wisdom is wisdom, whether it comes from Lao Tzu and his writings or whether it comes from Native American teachings. True wisdom is universal for the human race. This point brings me to a little book (poem) call the Havamal.

The Havamal is a Viking poem, but we could call it a little book of wisdom. The Havamal, written in AD 700-900, is one of the most popular of the Eddaic poems. The Eddas held the same value to the Vikings as the Vedas did/do to the Indian culture. You could say that the Havamal is a mixture of Latin proverbs and heathen wisdom. Too many people today are under the impression that they can only get true wisdom from their own culture or their own religion, and they miss out on the fact that there is universal wisdom that applies to all humans across the board.

Also called, the Wisdom of the North, the Havamal gives us insight into the pagan world of the Vikings. Some of the sayings are a bit hard to grasp for people today and some of the sayings go straight to the heart of the matter. I have tried to include only ones which are straightforward in this post.

Why have I decided to write about the Havamal in my blog which is mainly concerned with warrior values? The answer is simple, the Vikings were warriors and the ethics of the Havamal are above all rooted in the belief of the value of the individual. They believed that each individual was responsible for his own life, shaped his own fortune, and created the life that he wanted to live.

So, for all of my pagan readers, which I know that I have many, and all of my other readers who are open to true wisdom, no matter what the source, lean back in your comfy desk chair, couch, or bed, and enjoy the ancient wisdom of the Vikings…

1) A sage visitor is a silent guest. The cautious evades evil. Never a friend more faithful, nor great wealth, than wisdom.

2) The cautious guest who comes to the table speaks sparingly. Listen with ears, learns with eyes. Such is the seeker of knowledge.

3) It is dire luck to be dependent on the feelings of a fellow man.

4) Advice given by others is often ill counsel.

5) A clear head is good company. Drink is a dangerous friend.

6) At a feast the fool chatters or he stares and stammers. Just as soon as his jug is full, ale unveils his mind.

7) A man should drink in moderation…be sensible or silent.

8 ) A man of lean wisdom will never learn what his stomach can store.

9) He is unhappy and ill-tempered who meets all with mockery.

10) The unwise man is awake all night…worries over and again. When morning rises he is restless still, his burden as before.

11) The unwise man imagines a smiling face, a friend. Surprised to find how little support he musters at a meeting.

12) Often it’s best for the unwise man to sit in silence. His ignorance goes unnoticed unless he tells too much.

13) Much nonsense a man utters who talks without tiring.

14) They pass for wise who pass unnoticed.

15) Go you must. No guest shall stay in one place for ever. Love will be lost if you sit too long at a friends’s fire.

16) Never walk away from home ahead of your axe and sword. You can’t feel a battle in your bones or foresee a fight.

17) Be your friend’s true friend. Return gift for gift.

18) Beware of befriending an enemy’s friend.

19) A true friend whom you trust well and wish for his good will: Go to him often, exchange gifts and keep him company.

20) The brave and the generous have the best lives. They’re seldom sorry. The unwise man is always worried.

21) The best of lives is led by those who know the measure of many things.

22) A man listens thus he learns.

23) Wake early if you want another man’s life or land. No lamb for the lazy wolf. No battle’s won in bed.

24) One may know your secret, never a second. If three, a thousand will know.

25) A prudent man wields his power in modest measure.

26) Money often makes an ape of many a good man.

27) To give and take is a guarentee of lasting love.

28) Better a humble house than none. A man is master at home.

29) He is truly wise who’s traveled far and knows the ways of the world. He who has travelled can tell what spirit governs the men he meets.

30) Cattle die, kinsmen die, all men are mortal. Words of praise will never perish nor a noble name.

Cattle die, kinsmen die, all men die at some point and time,
but a noble name built on character and honor is eternal.
Live with honor my warrior friends…

Bohdi
Warrior Wisdom

The Inferior Man
(aka the Fool)

I write a lot about the characteristics of the warrior and how the true warrior should think and act. There are specific traits that are common to the warrior. These traits are found in most warrior societies throughout the ages and are based on character, honor, integrity, filial duty, courage, self-discipline, and service to others. Although I realize that not everyone agrees with me concerning what makes one a warrior, I think that we can all pretty much agree that these traits are beneficial for people as a whole.

Just as there are specific traits that are found in the true warrior or the “true” human being, there are specific traits which are found in the antithesis of the warrior. In this case, I will simply call the antithesis of the warrior “the fool.” I think that even if we disagree as to what makes someone a true warrior, we can agree that the fool is pretty much the opposite of what we would look for in the warrior.

Sages in every era have discussed the characteristics of the fool. Different teachers have had different terms to refer to this less than noble creature, but throughout the ages, their descriptions of the fool have had a lot of commonalities. So instead of discussing more of the principles and characteristics of the true warrior, I thought it might be interesting to look at the subject from the other side of the coin, that of the fool. So, what are the characteristics of the fool? I’m so glad you asked…

The wise pursue understanding;
fools follow the reports of others.
Tibetan Proverb

Fools rejoice at promises.
Russian Proverb

A fool believes everything.
English Proverb

One wise man can feed a thousand fools;
one fool can scarcely feed himself.
Chinese Proverb

A fool will soon use up his money.
Japanese Proverb

Prejudice is the reason of fools.
Voltaire

Fools die fore the lack of judgment.
Proverbs

A fool spurns his father’s discipline.
Proverbs

A fool is busy in everyone’s business but his own.
English Proverb

A wise man changes his mind; a fool, never.
Spanish Proverb

It is the peculiar quality of a fool to perceive the faults of others
and to forget his own.
Cicero

A fool is pleased by beauty alone.
Russian Proverb

A fool becomes full of evil even if one gathers it little by little.
The Dhammapada

Pride, the never-failing vice of fools.
Alexander Pope

Haste is the passion of fools.
Baltasar Gracian

The burnt fool’s bandaged finger goes wobbling back to the fire.
Rudyard Kipling

A fool, indeed, has great need of a title; it teaches men to call him count or duke,
and thus forget his proper name of fool.
John Crowne

A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees.
William Blake

The inferior man is proud but not dignified.
Confucius

The first chapter of fools is to esteem themselves wise.
English Proverb

Learned fools are the greatest fools.
German Proverb

Every fool stands convinced; and everyone convinced is a fool;
and the faultier a man’s judgment, the firmer his convictions.
Baltasar Gracian

Wise men don’t need advice. Fools don’t take advice.
Benjamin Franklin

Counsel given to fools excites but does not pacify.
He who pours milk for a snake is only increasing its venom.
Nagarjuna

What is respected by the great is condemned by the lowly.
Sakya Pandit

The man who quarrels with facts is a fool.
Frank Garbutt

Most fools think they are only ignorant.
Benjamin Franklin

The foolish person seeks happiness in the distance.
James Oppenheim

To be like the parakeet, that says what he knows
but doesn’t know what he says.
Spanish Proverb

At a feast the fool chatters or he stares and stammers.
Just as soon as his jug is full, ale unveils his mind.
The Havamal

A fool is hotheaded and reckless.
Proverbs

To generalize is to be an idiot.
William Blake

Shallow men believe in luck.
Emerson

A fool has not enough in him to make a good man.
La Rochefoucauld

Hypocrisy, arrogance, vanity, anger, harshness, ignorance;
these characterize a man with foolish traits.
The Bhagavad Gita

Outside noisy, inside empty.
Chinese Proverb

Wise men talk because they have something to say;
Fools because they have to say something.
Plato

The smaller the mind the greater the conceit.
Aesop

Every fool wants to give advice.
Italian Proverb

A fool finds no pleasure in understanding
but delights in airing his own opinions.
Proverbs

A fool exposes his folly.
Proverbs

Change of weather is the discourse of fools.
Thomas Fuller

A wise man doesn’t know everything – only a fool does.
African Proverb

Fools regard themselves as already awake.
Chuang Tzu

The superior man stands in awe of the words of the sages.
The inferior man does not stand in awe of them;
He is disrespectful to important people;
He mocks the words of the sages.
Confucius

A fool’s talk brings a rod to his back.
Proverbs

Sweet words please fools.
Japanese Proverb

What is the purpose of all these quotes? Since the fool is the antithesis of the warrior, do the opposite of what the fool does. You don’t want to be like the fool, so when you see that something is a characteristic of the fool, work to remove that trait from your life. There are always consequences for every action. Dr. Frank Crane said it perfectly in the paragraph below:

“Every generation a new crop of fools comes on. They think they can beat the orderly universe. They conceive themselves to be more clever than the eternal laws. They snatch goods from Nature’s store, and run…And one by one they all come back to Nature’s counter, and pay – pay in tears, in agony, in despair; pay as fools before them have paid…Nature keeps books pitilessly. Your credit with her is good, but she collects; there is no land you can flee to and escape her bailiffs…She never forgets; she sees to it that you pay her every cent you owe, with interest.”

Fools have been and always will be the majority of mankind.
Denis Diderot

There is always a majority of fools.
Heraclitus

This is why the true warrior is such a rare man -
always has been…always will be

Bohdi
Warrior Wisdom

Character Check

But here we may wonder what he would do
if nobody knew anything about it.
The Code of the Samurai

What would you do if you knew that there was absolutely no possibility that anyone else would ever find out about your actions? According to the Code of the Samurai this is a question that every warrior should ask himself. Would this fact change the way that you think about things or would you continue to live by the standards that you have set for yourself? This question is the true test of your character.

Circumstances reveal us to others and still more to ourselves.
La Rochefoucauld

A change in scenery does not change one’s character.
Aesop

Be as you wish to seem.
Socrates

The real warrior would live the same way and adhere to the same high standards whether anybody else knew about his actions or not. Even if all laws were abolished and we had a world of complete anarchy, his standards would not change. To men of character, their standards are not flexible. Their honor is not negotiable. Whether they are alone or in the middle of thousands of people, their character is set in stone.

Wise people, even though all laws were abolished, would still lead the same life.
Aristophanes

To the samurai, this question was an insinuation of hypocrisy. If a man is sincere about his beliefs and his code of ethics, he doesn’t just live by them on some occasions, but at other times he completely ignores them. He lives the life of the warrior seven day a week, regardless of who is watching or who is not watching. He doesn’t do the right thing in order to impress others, but to live up to his code of ethics.

What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think.
Emerson

Many people appear to have upstanding moral character, when in reality, they are only looking out for their own good. Most people don’t go around robbing banks, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that they are upstanding people. Are they not robbing banks because it is wrong, or are they not robbing banks because they fear the consequences of being caught and put in prison? The result is the same; they don’t rob banks, but the principle behind the action is as different as night and day.

It is not enough to make something look good.
The underlying principle must be good.
Joyce Sequichie Hifler

Virtue is more clearly shown in the performance of fine actions
than in the nonperformance of base ones.
Aristotle

Would these same people choose to rob the bank if there were no law? Would they steal from others if they knew no one would ever know about it? This is the same principle as we find in the story about the millionaire who propositioned a lady at a party. The millionaire asked the lady, “Would you sleep with me for 1 million dollars?” The lady smiled and said, “That’s a lot of money…of course I would!” Then the millionaire said, “Would you sleep with me for $20?” The lady became offended and said, “What do you think I am, a whore or something?” The millionaire said, “We have already established that my dear. Now we are only haggling over price.”

Few men have the virtue to withstand the highest bidder.
George Washington

Keep a check on your character. Ask yourself, “What would I do if nobody else knew about it?” Be honest… What would you do if you knew that you absolutely could not get in any trouble for your actions or that there would be no consequences for your actions whatsoever? When you have truly figured out the answer to this question, you will have discovered the extent of your character.

Virtue is a state of character concerned with choice.
Aristotle

Bohdi
Warrior Wisdom

Prejudice – A Warrior’s Duty

There is very little difference between one man and another;
But what little difference there is, is very important.
This distinction seems to me to go to the root of the matter.
William James

Prejudice means an opinion which is formed beforehand given certain information. This is usually an unfavorable opinion. Most people, when they hear the word prejudice, think of the other definitions of prejudice, which is holding an ill-informed opinion or having an irrational dislike of somebody based on religion, ethnicity, nationality, etc. The word is also frequently used as a synonym for the word racist. As used in this blog post, prejudice means an opinion formed beforehand based on rational information.

Forming opinions from the information that you know to be correct is a must for the warrior. You have to be able to read people and to discertain certain traits about someone’s character. This is part of the warrior’s duty. It is part of protecting your friends, family, and those around you. Warriors have to be aware of people’s characters in order to avoid trouble or to be prepared for trouble in advance.

The superior man will prudently pick the community he will live within,
and will choose the proper people to associate with.
Confucius

At one school that I taught in, I had a student who went to the principal and accused me of being prejudice. The principal called me in and “look into the situation.” He explained that this student had accused me of being prejudiced and he had to “take any such claim seriously.” After he got tired of hearing his own remarkable lack of intelligence on the subject, he went on to ask me what I had to say about it.

His jaw nearly hit the floor when I told him that “yeah, I am prejudiced.” The assistant principal, a man with a little more intelligence than our inept principal, was also in the room. He quickly jumped to my defense, thinking that I had just sealed my fate. He said, “Your not prejudiced Bohdi, you have done more than anyone else to help our Hispanic students!” In response, I said that I said I am prejudiced, not racist…there is a difference, at least by the definition that I am using for this discussion.

Confused, they asked me to explain. I went on to tell them that, yes, I am in fact prejudiced. I am prejudiced against gang members and drug dealers. I am prejudiced against rapists and murderers. I am prejudiced against child molesters and men who abuse their wives and kids. And yes, I am prejudiced against Juan, at least as long as he is dealing drugs and threatening my other students. I went on to say that my prejudice against this student’s actions has never affected his grades or schoolwork. I never heard another word about that incident from the principal, although when I left that school, the assistant principal wrote in his recommendation that I was the best teacher that they had in the school.

The point is that everyone is prejudice or at least you should be. The wise person will always want to form some opinion about certain other people before you allow them in your house or around your loved-ones. Don’t believe you are prejudiced? Okay, would you invited Charles Manson over to your house for dinner and give him a bed for the night? No?? Why not? You might answer because he is a psychotic killer and that would be stupid, and you would be right. But you have just shown me that you are prejudiced against psychotic killers. Everyone has some prejudice, in one form or another. Just make sure yours is just.

By nature, men are nearly alike;
By practice, they get to be wide apart.
Confucius

You see, being prejudiced is not necessarily a bad thing. I am prejudiced against people of low character. I prefer not to associate with them. Drug dealers, pimps, gang members, criminals, and the like are not people that I care to associate with. Yes, this is being prejudiced, but my opinion is formed from information gathered from these people’s lifestyle and their actions…and it is a just and accurate judgment. Not only is my opinion just, but it is necessary to keep my family safe.

All men who live are alike at birth.
Diverse actions define their distinction and distinctiveness.
Tiruvalluvar

You should be selective about who you associate with on your journey. Associate with people of quality. This may sound elitist or snobby, but the fact is that the people whom you associate with play a huge part in your development in becoming the person you want to become. Also note that just because a person is someone who you don’t want to associate with, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t treat them with respect and manners. Be civil, be nice, be respectful, but also see someone’s character as it really is.

He who is wise never consorts with fools.
Baltasar Gracian

Ever associate with the good.
Associate not with the wicked man.
The Talmud

When I explained this philosophy to a friend of mine, she said, “Oh Bohdi, you’re not prejudiced, you’re just idiot intolerant.” LOL Well, I guess it is kind of the same thing. The bottom line here is that NOBODY should be judged according to the color of his skin or the origin of his birth, but by his character. Always look at a person’s character and form your opinions from that. The main way to discern someone’s character is by their actions. An apple tree does not produce cherries, and a man of character will not participate in dishonorable actions.

Behavior is the perpetual revealing of us.
What a man does, tells us what he is.
F.D. Huntington

Bohdi Sanders
Warrior Wisdom

Higher Law

Highly evolved people have their own conscience as pure law.
Lao Tzu

We have a lot of laws that we are supposed to adhere to in today’s society. Our “lawmakers” seem to think that it is their job to make more laws for us to follow each year. After all, if they aren’t making new laws, debating over them and voting on them, how would they justify their salaries which the tax payers pay them or the raises which they so generously give themselves? They have to do something to justify putting their hands in the till. But what gives these people the right to make our laws?

Okay, sure we give them the right by voting them into office, that’s a given. But let’s look a little deeper at this issue. Are these people wiser or more honorable? Are they more knowledgeable about what is good for you and me than we are ourselves? Is it that they have more integrity and therefore they know how we should all live our lives? Well, speaking as someone who has worked in one of our “esteemed” legislative bodies, I can tell you without any doubt, the answer to all of these questions is a resounding NO!

Government has no rights; it is a delegation
from several individuals for the purpose of securing their own.
Percy Bysshe Shelley

Power must never be trusted without a check.
John Adams

These people are not wiser or more intelligent. They are certainly not men of true honor, at least the majority of them aren’t. They definitely do not have the integrity of a warrior. I have rubbed elbows with governors, senators, representatives and the like, and I have been privileged to see first hand what happens behind the scenes when the sessions are out and the reporters are gone. These are not men of honor…far from it. So why then do we feel that the limits which these men give us are close to sacred? Wow, they passed another “law” and we must obey the law…no matter how asinine the law may be.

The laws keep up their credit, not by being just, but because they are laws;
’tis the mystic foundation of their authority…
They are often made by fools;
still oftener by men who, out of hatred to equality, fail in equity;
but always by men, vain and irresolute authors.
Montaigne

The more corrupt the State the more numerous the laws.
Tacitus

These “laws” are not sacred, people. They are made by men with questionable honor and integrity. Many times they are made with hidden agendas which you and I will never be privy to. I happen to set in on several “meetings” between a railroad lobby and state representatives in which secret deals were made under the table. Money changed hands, all by “legal” means of course, in exchange for specific votes on specific laws. Were these laws for the good of the people? What do you think…

Government is an association of men
who do violence to the rest of us.
Tolstoy

You are probably thinking about now, what does any of this have to do with the warrior lifestyle? Well, I’m glad you asked. As a warrior, you have to consider what is right in all your actions. Legal does not necessarily equal right, and illegal does not necessarily equal wrong. There may be times when the warrior has to decide between what is right and what is legal. Yes, sometimes the warrior has to do things which may be against the law. Conversely, there are many things which are considered legal according to our laws, which the warrior will consider dishonorable according to the code he lives by.

Government is essentially immoral.
Herbert Spencer

This may sound strange to many of you, but it is reality for the warrior. An example that many people can relate to would be the issue of abortion. (Please don’t turn this blog into a debate over abortion, this is just an example.) Abortion is legal in this country, but there are millions of Christians in our country who would not consider abortion an ethical option for themselves. It goes against their principles. In the same way, there are many things which are legal which go against the principles which the warrior lives by.

Never do anything against conscience
even if the state demands it.
Einstein

Moreover, the warrior must do things which are illegal at times in order to hold fast to his integrity and honor. For example, did you know that it is illegal in Colorado to give aid to a runaway? I once had a student who ran away from home because she was being sexually abused. She called me, as her teacher, in the middle of the night, cold and hungry, and asked for help. I helped her and gave her food and shelter, even though it was against the law. Having worked with the local social service office, I knew better than to call them right away, I had to think about what was best for this student.

Later, it was discovered that I gave her food and shelter for a couple of days until I decided what I should have her do. Social services, the local police, her parents, and the school administration all turned on me like a pack of wolves. They wanted me jailed. Charges mysteriously went away though when I contacted her well known parents and told them I knew what was happening in the home. Hummmmm imagine that…a discretionary law dropped because of an inconvenient truth. These “sacred” laws are very flexible for the right people, as we see over and over in our country.

Don’t oppose forces, use them.
R. Buckminster Fuller

There are many examples where the code of the warrior and the law of the land do not mesh. What is important to the warrior is not necessarily these “laws” but rather the issue of right and wrong. The warrior lives by his own code of ethics. He determines what is permissible and not permissible for himself. This code of honor is the highest law of the land for the warrior. He must live by his code of honor regardless of what the politicians say. At the same time, the warrior must be careful when the time comes that he has to break the law…self defense includes all areas, even defense against prosecution.

It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
Voltaire

The warrior sets his own laws. Now, I am not saying that we should totally disregard our laws and do whatever we wish, although if everyone lived the warrior lifestyle, laws would not be needed. But as we all know, very few people live the lifestyle of the warrior and therefore we have to have laws for people who refuse to govern themselves. Why is the warrior different? Because the warrior holds himself to a higher standard than anyone else could possibly expect from him.

Wise people, even though all laws were abolished,
would still lead the same life.
Aristophanes

The superior man is governed by decorum;
The inferior man is ruled by law.
Chinese Proverb

The warrior doesn’t need laws to keep him in line. His own sense of right and wrong, and his sense of honor and integrity keep a tighter reign on his actions than any outside law. Even if there were no laws at all, the warrior would still do the right thing. Yes, the warrior still obeys the laws of the land…until they go crosswise to the laws of his spirit. Then his code of honor trumps the law of the land. His code of honor is the “higher law.” Be your own law; be a man of character, honor and integrity. Live by the Higher Law.

Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist.
Emerson

The just man is himself his own law.
Catacombs Inscription

Bohdi Sanders
Warrior Wisdom

Highlander Wisdom

One of my all time favorite television shows is Highlander…There is a lot to be learned from good, well written fantasy. We better hope so anyway, because unfortunately most of the younger generation are learning their values from movies and television.

Although not perfect, Highlander does offer many of truisms concerning honor and integrity. They are there if you look for them. Fortunately for my readers, I did look for them. Here are twenty quotes from Highlander that you should ponder…enjoy!!

* If you go hunting tigers be sure you are prepared to find one.

* The most important lesson:
Anger doesn’t give you an edge, it blunts you.
Make your adversary angry.
The madder he gets, the more chances
you have he will make a mistake.

* Don’t let your opponent see all your skills.

* Sometimes life doesn’t give you a choice.

* Those who forget the past are condemned to relive it.

* Believing and proving are two different things.

* Focus conquers a superior adversary.

* A man has to do what a man has to do.

* The age old rule…divide and conquer.

* Sometimes, when you believe in something that can’t be proved now…
it doesn’t mean it will never be proved.

* Knowing what you don’t know is almost
as important as knowing what you do know.

* The truth doesn’t always jump up into your arms.
Sometimes you have to sneak up and ambush it.

* The main difference between a wise man and a fool
is that the fool’s mistakes never teach him anything.

* Some things will never change…some will.

* The truth is the truth, no matter what you think about it.

* Time does not weaken a vow.

* Fear – it can take your soul…your heart.

* There are critical moments in everybody’s life -
when it can go one way or another.
Who you are can depend on who you meet.

* If you don’t like what you are, you can change it.

* A man of honor lives with what he does.

Bohdi Sanders
Warrior Wisdom

The Tao of Anger

A Zen student came to the master and complained, “Master, I have an ungovernable temper. How can I cure it?”
“You have something that is very strange,” said the master. “Let me see this thing that you have.”
“I cannot show it to you just now,” said the student.
“Then when can you show it to me?” asked the master
“It arises unexpectedly,” replied the student.
“Then it must not be your own true nature. If it were, you could show it to me at any time. It is something you are not born with. It is not you.” the master replied.

Bohdi Sanders
Warrior Wisdom

True Friendship – True Warrior Ideals

Today we hear people constantly talking about their “friends.” They will tell you how they have so many friends or just how good their friends are and how they would trust them with their life. The word “friend” get thrown around pretty loosely in today’s society. In reality, I don’t think that most people have a good grasp on what that word means.

I find myself disagreeing with Mr. Webster fairly often these days. I disagree with his definition of the word warrior, and I also disagree with his definition of the word friend. These definitions are too simplistic. One of the definitions that Webster’s dictionary give to the word friend is an acquaintance, but I feel that their is a huge difference between the meaning of the two words.

Your acquaintances must fill the empire;
your close friends must be few.
Chinese Proverb

An acquaintance is simply someone who you know or are who you are on friendly terms with, whereas as the term friend has a much deeper meaning. To me a true friend is a very rare person to find today. A friend is someone who will stand by you through thick and thin. When the chips are down, your friend is there with you. When the wolf is at your door, your friend is standing inside the door with you, ready to put his life on the line, side by side with you. He will stand by you right or wrong. When you win the lottery, your friend is sincerely happy for you, just as if he had won it himself. You are getting the picture.

The word friend is common, the fact is rare.
Phaedrus

I consider a friend to be much more than an acquaintance. In truth, you are lucky to have one true friend in your life. If you have more than one, you are truly blessed. Realize this and don’t make the mistake of thinking of your acquaintances as your true friends. This is a common mistake that people make, and when their back is against the wall, they are shocked to find that they really didn’t have friends, but only acquaintances, and they can disappear like a dove in a magic show.

He who has many friends has no friends.
Aesop

The unwise man imagines a smiling face, a friend.
Surprised to find how little support he musters at a meeting.
The Havamal

It takes years to develop a true friendship and to know for sure that you can trust someone completely. Even after years, unless you know for sure that this person is your true friend, you should be careful concerning how much trust you put in this person. You may think that this sounds very cold and distrustful, but what I am writing is true. Don’t be too quick to trust someone as a friend.

If you have one true friend,
you have more than your share comes to.
Thomas Fuller

Rare though true love may be,
true friendship is rarer still.
La Rochefoucauld

The fishes, though deep in the water, may be hooked; the birds, though high in the air, may be shot. But man’s secret thoughts are out of reach. The heavens may be measured, the earth may be surveyed, but the heart of man is not to be known. You never really know what is in someone else’s heart. Most people don’t even take the time to know what is in their own heart.

Take the story of Samson and Delilah for an example. Samson loved Delilah and thought that he could trust her completely. His misguided trust lead to his downfall. Although, I am sure that Samson was a true friend to Delilah, she was never his friend. This is a trap that many warriors walk into because the warrior by nature is a true friend. His character, honor and integrity require him to be sincere and to be there for his friends.

Be your friend’s true friend.
The Havamal

It is sometimes hard to think of others not having the same dedication to friendship that you have, so we let our guard down only to be hurt when we find that our “friend” was no more than a buddy. The sages have taught this fact of human nature for centuries. It has always been this way. History is full of examples that show the treachery of false friends.

Trust in today’s friends as if they might be tomorrow’s enemies.
Baltasar Gracian

Never trust someone with enough information to hurt you. At least not until you have known them for years and years, and they have proven them self to be your true friend though the storms of life. Even then, be careful about what you share. It is always best to keep some things private. Control your desire to share the secret of your power. You never know when someone will sell your friendship for a few pieces of silver.

A man must be watchful and wary as well,
and fearful of trusting a friend.
The Havamal

Strive to make sure that your true friends are men of character, honor, and integrity. Warriors are the best of friends. Because they live by a strict code of ethics, they refuse to let their friends down in their time of need. This would go against their nature and their code. When you have developed a true friendship with a warrior, you have a trusted friend for life, because the warrior is a true friend and a man of his word.

Bohdi Sanders
Warrior Wisdom

Is Honor Black & White?

Many people believe that honor is one of those few things in life which is black and white. This belief is both true and false. True in the sense that every action can be classified as either being honorable or dishonorable. Just as a door is either open or shut, our actions are either honorable or dishonorable. It is one or the other. That is just the way it is.

Now, you may argue that a door can be shut, but just not shut all the way. And you would be right, but if a door is not shut all the way, it is still technically open. All that is left to discuss is the degree to which that door is open or closed. It may be 99% closed, but 99% closed is still open by 1%. It is the same way with honor. If an act is only partly honorable, it is a dishonorable act.

Okay, I have proved that honor is black and white, right? Not so fast…What I said is that actions can be classified as either honorable or dishonorable, but honor itself is definitely not a black or white issue. Honor is much more complicated than that. Honor is a term that many people seem to throw around, but few really understand what it actually means. A lot of people will preach that honor can be defined in black and white generalities, but that is false thinking.

A countless number of acts that appear foolish
have secret motives that are very wise and weighty.
La Rochefoucauld

These same people will say that it is always dishonorable to lie. Well, let’s examine that statement. Is it dishonorable for the cop to lie to a drug dealer when he is doing undercover work? I don’t think so. Was it dishonorable for the family, who was hiding Jews during Nazi Germany, to lie to German soldiers about the fact that they were helping these people? Of course not. So lying must not always be a dishonorable act. By the same account, truthfulness is not always an honorable act. Wait, don’t start throwing rotten tomatoes at me yet…

Think about it! If the same family I used in the example above was truthful to the Nazi soldiers, this family would have signed the death sentence for the Jews which they were hiding. Would this be an honorable act? Not in my book. But they told the truth and telling the truth is an honorable act, right? Not always…

To generalize is to be an idiot.
William Blake

Actions must be judged according to intentions.
Arab Maxim

An action is always honorable or dishonorable, right or wrong, but you cannot categorize each individual action as always being honorable or dishonorable, or always being right or wrong. See the difference? The intentions of the individual determine whether or not an act is honorable or not, not the act itself. That is right…the same exact act may be honorable in one instance and dishonorable in another. Honor is not black and white.

Our own heart, and not other men’s opinion, form our true honor.
Samuel Coleridge

You are a man; do not dishonor mankind.
Jean Jacques Rousseau

Bohdi
Warrior Wisdom

The Man in the Right

Not to long ago I was contacted by one of my blog readers, who has also become a good friend of mine. She informed me that her dad, who had also started reading my blog, was coming to CO for a visit and would like to take me out for a beer and meet me. Her dad, Don, was a gracious man whose face showed the years of service as a lawman on the border. Both his look and his demeanor, not to mention his cowboy hat and boots, reminded me of an old west sheriff. Don had many colorful stories of his adventures as a lawman on a large border town, but I found the following one the most interesting.

Don had been called to this bar late one night, as lawmen often are, to take care of a bit of business with a troublemaker. Business concluded, he was on his way out the door, headed home, when a huge guy in a cowboy hat and boots, blocked his path with his leg. This guy looked at Don with a cold stare and said, “Tonight, I’m going to kick your ass…bad.” Don said that by the look of this man, he knew that he meant it, and he also knew that he could get the job done.

The anger of a prudent man never shows.
Burmese Proverb

The wise conquer by strength, rather than anger.
The malevolent fail by their own rage.
Nagarjuna

Don took another drink of his cold beer, put his hand on my should, and then told me what happened next. He said, Bohdi, I that is as scared as I had ever been during my time as a lawman. This guy meant serious business…to this day, I still don’t know where the words came from, but this is what I told him. I looked him straight in the eye and said…You may kick my ass tonight, but tomorrow night I will be back with a deputy. And you may be able to kick both of our asses tomorrow night, but if we can’t set things right, I will be back the next night with two more deputies.

We have 465 lawmen in this county, and I will come back as many nights as it takes to make things right. Make no doubt about it, I will set things straight. We will severely kick you ass sooner or later, and then, on top of that, you will be going to jail after it is all over. Don said the man just looked at him and silently, he simply removed his leg and let Don pass.

Then Don told me, you know Bohdi, the Creed of the Texas Ranger is what I believe in, “No man in the wrong can beat a man in the right that just keeps coming.” If you are in the right, sooner or later you will win. Don then took another drink of his beer and asked his beautiful daughter if she would dance with an old cowboy.

No man in the wrong can beat a man
in the right that just keeps coming.
The Creed of the Texas Ranger

Nothing is over until it is completely over; you can’t be defeated until you declare defeat. Defeat is a state of mind. Losing one battle does not equal a lost war. You decide when to declare victory or defeat. Don’t declare victory too soon, and don’t declare defeat at all. Remember the Creed of the Texas Ranger…

Defeat is a state of mind;
no one is ever defeated until
defeat has been accepted as a reality.
Bruce Lee

Bohdi Sanders
Warrior Wisdom

Justice Demands Action

A story related to me by my friend Clint in my last blog reminded me of this. As warriors, we never want to hurt someone. Well, maybe at times we would like to, but we refrain from doing so unless it is absolutely necessary. But there are times when it is necessary. Certain behaviors demand that action be taken, especially when the protection of others is involved.

To spare the ravening leopard
is an act of injustice to the sheep.
Persian Proverb

As a teacher I have had to deal with several menacing students over the years. I had one student who was constantly disruptive, threatening and abusive to both teachers and students. Other students and some teachers were afraid of him. He disrupted the education of students who actually wanted to learn and to make something of their lives. This student made threats to teachers and students alike. With all of this going on for months, the administration refused to expel this student because they wanted to be “compassionate.”

As warriors, we should be compassionate, but there is a flip side to compassion. The other side of the coin is that their compassion for this student was actually an act of injustice to all of the other students and teachers. By letting this student stay in school, the administration was interfering with the education of the good students who were doing what they should be doing. You can’t have it both ways. You have to make a decision.

Pardoning the bad, is injuring the good.
Benjamin Franklin

You can also commit injustice by doing nothing.
Marcus Aurelius

The same thing goes for our justice system. When our justice system has mercy on the violent criminal and gives him a light sentence or probation, it is really an injustice to the next person this criminal assaults. It just reinforces in his mind that there are no real consequences to his actions and that what he is doing is worth the minuscule risk that he has to take.

Who does not punish evil, invites it.
German Proverb

Warriors are by nature compassionate people, but there are limits to their compassion. When a wolf is killing your sheep, is it your duty to be compassionate to the wolf or to the sheep? A decision has to be made. Do you spare the wolf or protect the sheep? You can’t do both. The warrior should always stand on the side of justice.

When you are just you use your character as law.
Menander

Bohdi
Warrior Wisdom

NATIVE AMERICAN CODE OF ETHICS

1. RISE WITH THE SUN TO PRAY, PRAY ALONE, PRAY OFTEN. THE GREAT SPIRIT WILL LISTEN IF YOU WILL ONLY SPEAK.

2. BE TOLERANT OF THOSE THAT ARE LOST ON THEIR PATHS. IGNORANCE, CONCEIT, ANGER, JEALOUSY, AND GREED STEM FROM LOST SOULS. PRAY THAT THEY WILL FIND GUIDANCE.

3. SEARCH FOR YOURSELF BY YOURSELF, DO NOT ALLOW OTHERS TO MAKE YOUR PATH FOR YOU. IT IS YOUR ROAD AND YOURS ALONE. OTHERS MAY WALK IT WITH YOU, BUT NO ONE CAN WALK IT FOR YOU.

4. TREAT THE GUEST IN YOUR HOME WITH MUCH CONSIDERATION. SERVE THEM THE BEST FOOD, GIVE THEM THE BEST BEDS, AND TREAT THEM WITH RESPECT AND HONOR.

5. DO NOT TAKE WHAT IS NOT YOURS,WHETHER FROM A PERSON, A COMMUNITY, THE WILDERNESS, OR FROM A CULTURE. IT WAS NOT EARNED NOR GIVEN. IT IS NOT YOURS.

6. RESPECT ALL THINGS THAT ARE PLACED UPON THIS EARTH, WHETHER PEOPLE, ANIMAL, OR PLANT. HONOR THE SPIRIT IN ALL THINGS.

7. HONOR OTHER PEOPLES THOUGHTS, WISHES, AND WORDS. NEVER INTERRUPT ANOTHER, MOCK OR RUDELY MIMIC THEM. ALLOW EACH PERSON THE RIGHT TO PERSONAL EXPRESSION.

8. NEVER SPEAK OF OTHERS IN A BAD WAY. THE NEGATIVE ENERGY THAT YOU PUT OUT INTO THE UNIVERSE WILL MULTIPLY WHEN IT RETURNS TO YOU. ALL PEOPLE MAKE MISTAKES, AND ALL MISTAKES CAN BE FORGIVEN. BAD THOUGHTS CAUSE ILLNESS OF THE MIND, BODY, AND SPIRIT. PRACTICE OPTIMISIM.

9. NATURE IS NOT FOR US, IT IS A PART OF US. NATURE IS PART OF YOUR WORLDLY FAMILY.

10. CHILDREN ARE THE SEEDS OF OUR FUTURE. PLANT LOVE IN THEIR HEARTS AND WATER THEM WITH WISDOM AND LIFE’S LESSONS. WHEN THEY ARE GROWN, GIVE THEM SPACE TO GROW.

11. AVOID HURTING THE HEARTS OF OTHERS. THE POISON OF YOUR PAIN WILL RETURN TO YOU.

12. BE TRUTHFUL AT ALL TIMES. HONESTY IS THE TEST OF ONE’S WILL WITHIN THIS UNIVERSE.

13. KEEP YOURSELF BALANCED. YOUR MENTAL SELF, SPIRITUAL SELF, EMOTIONAL SELF, AND PHYSICAL SELF ALL NEED TO BE STRONG, PURE, AND HEALTHY. WORK OUT THE BODY TO STRENGTHEN THE MIND. GROW RICK IN SPIRIT TO CURE EMOTIONAL AILS.

14. MAKE CONSCIOUS DECISIONS AS TO WHO YOU WILL BE AND HOW YOU WILL REACT. BE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR OWN ACTIONS.

15. RESPECT THE PRIVACY AND PERSONAL SPACE OF OTHERS. DO NOT TOUCH THE PERSONAL PROPERTY OF OTHRS, ESPECIALLY SACRED AND RELIGIOUS OBJECTS-THIS IS FORBIDDEN.

16. BE TRUE TO YOURSELF. YOU CANNOT NURTURE AND HELP OTHERS IF YOU CANNOT NURTURE AND HELP YOURSELF FIRST.

17. RESPECT OTHERS RELIGIOUS BELIEFS. DO NOT FORCE YOUR BELIEFS UPON OTHERS.

18. SHARE YOUR GOOD FORTUNE WITH OTHERS. PARTICIPATE IN CHARITY. BE WILLING TO GIVE BACK TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THE PEOPLE WILL LIVE.

AHO!
(Reprinted with permission of my friend Jim Standing Bear)

Bohdi Sanders

The Wisdom Warrior

Right is Right…Wrong is Wrong

The warrior does what is right. He does what is just. Justice is foremost on his mind. It doesn’t matter if no one else stands for justice or not. If no one else stands for justice, the warrior is willing to stand alone. He is not influenced or swayed by the majority’s opinion of right and wrong. The warrior knows in his spirit what is right and what is wrong, and it is his own standards that he follows, not the morals of the day.

This is one of the main things that sets the warrior apart from the rest of society. He lives by his own code of honor, not society’s politically correct idea of right and wrong. He sees things as they really are, and is able to look past the façade. A warrior must be clear about the code that he lives by. He must know what he believes and why he believes it, in order to have the conviction that it takes to stand alone for justice.

Right is right, even if nobody does it.
Wrong is wrong, even if everybody is wrong about it.
G. K. Chesterson

How can you be motivated enough to stand alone against injustice if you aren’t 100% sure about what is right and what is wrong? You must be able to recognize injustice when you see it in order to stand for justice. Always do what is right, even if nobody else does. You will find that it will give you much more satisfaction than you could ever get by following the crowd. Be independent of everyone else and make your own decisions. Many times the warrior has to walk alone.

From Warrior Wisdom: Ageless Wisdom for the Modern Warrior
by Bohdi Sanders, PhD

The Wisdom Warrior

What is a Real Warrior?

What makes someone a warrior? Is it the job that he has? Is someone automatically a warrior because he works as a policeman or is in the military? Is someone less of a warrior if they are a school teacher, rather than a policeman? These are all questions which should be considered. We hear a lot about the warrior professions and about how this group or that group are true warriors, but being a warrior has nothing to do with with your profession or which group you may or may not belong to. It has to do with who you really are as a person.

You can be a policeman or be part of the military and not be a warrior. There are countless examples which testify to this fact, many of which have been in the news lately. A person can work as a cop or make a career of the military without ever coming close to being a real warrior. This has always been the case and probably always will be the case. Please don’t get me wrong, I am not bashing cops or the military. These are both honorable professions. But there are many honorable professions in this world.

Often man is preoccupied with human rules and forgets the inner law.
Antoine the Healer

There always have been and always will be warriors who have nothing to do with the “warrior professions.” Was Bruce Lee less of a warrior because he was a teacher and an actor? Or was Ginchin Funokoshi less of a warrior because he chose to be a teacher instead of a policeman? Is the crooked cop a warrior just because he happens to be a cop? I don’t think so. Warriors can be found throughout our society, in different positions and at different levels. You don’t become a warrior just because you get a certain job.

Honor cannot be bought.
Philippine Proverb

Being a warrior goes much, much deeper than how you happen to make your living. It goes to the core of who you are. Being a warrior is a lifestyle, not a profession. I know some cops who are truly warriors and I also know some cops who are as much of a criminal as the people who they arrest. Your profession doesn’t matter, as long as it is not dishonorable. What matters is what is in your spirit. Are you really a warrior or do you merely want to be thought of as a warrior?

One must make the warrior walk his everyday walk.
Miyamoto Musashi

The definition of a warrior is someone who takes part in war or who is experienced in warfare, but I think that the true definition of a warrior goes much deeper than that. A real warrior is more than someone who takes part in warfare. He is someone who lives by a set of principles or a code of ethics. There are many people around the world who have taken part in warfare, to some degree, who I doubt anyone would consider a real warrior. The real warrior is concerned with character, integrity and honor, as well as martial arts skills and training. He takes the lifestyle of the warrior seriously. He has respect for others and for life. He is not a pretender, but the real deal.

The master warrior is a man of character, a man of wisdom and insight.
Forrest E. Morgan

The best book that I have read pertaining to the lifestyle of the warrior is Living the Martial Way by Forrest E. Morgan. If you haven’t read this book, you should get a copy. It is great. There are some other good books on the subject, but this is my favorite. Whether you are a police officer, a martial artist, a teacher, a lawyer, or in the military, you should do your best to live the lifestyle of the real warrior. It is not something that you do, it is something that you are. The lifestyle of the warrior is not something that everyone can live up to, this is why the true warrior is an uncommon find in today’s society. Strive to be different. Strive to be a real warrior.

Bohdi Sanders
The Wisdom Warrior

The Warrior Creed
Robert L. Humphey

Wherever I go,
everyone is a little bit safer because I am there.

Wherever I am,
anyone in need has a friend.

Whenever I return home,
everyone is happy I am there.

The Warrior Walk

Being a warrior is a huge responsibility. Walking the path of the warrior is not something that you can decide to do for a couple of months then take a few days off and come back to it later. To be a true warrior, you have to commit to this lifestyle. The warrior is a warrior, period. He does not pretend to be a warrior, try to be a warrior, want to be a warrior; he is a warrior. Therefore, the warrior walk must be his everyday walk, there is no other way. There is no such thing as the “weekend warrior.” Either you are a warrior or you are not a warrior.

One must make the warrior walk his everyday walk.
Miyamoto Musashi

This does not mean that a warrior has to be in training every minute of every day. In today’s world this is an impossibility for most people. What this does mean is that every day the warrior is living up to the ideals that a warrior should live by, whether he is at work, on vacation, or just relaxing at home. The warrior makes these ideals a permanent part of his character, daily. He lives by his code of honor.

From Warrior Wisdom: Ageless Wisdom for the Modern Warrior
by Bohdi Sanders, PhD

The Wisdom Warrior