Way of the Peaceful Warrior Essay

Sometimes the longest and toughest journeys are inside one’s mind; and although others cannot notice them instantly, they change personalities profoundly. Dan, the main character, is a gymnast-student for Berkley University, California. His life seems perfect, he has everything he wants: friends, girls, good grades, his talent and passion for gymnastics and the strive to go to the Olympics. Until he meets Socrates. Socrates is a gas station attendant who leaves a mark in Dan’s memory right from the beginning. When they start to get to know each other, Dan understands that he’s nothing but a fool, and that he needs Socrates’s guidance to wake up and reach a deeper state of knowledge, a state of enlightenment.

After over a year of efforts trying to learn Socrates’s teachings, his teacher informs Dan that made a major improvement: he is no longer a young fool, he now is more of a man, but the biggest difference is that he has spirit. He still has a long way to go though, and the next step is moderating his life, he needs to “Follow the house rules”. His life is now going to be modeled after Socrates’s Way of The Peaceful Warrior, and he is going to have to follow rules for the most basic things, such as chastity, sobriety and vegetarianism. He’s willing to sacrifice and give up things he is addicted to in order to stop the chaos in his mind, to reach peace inside. Even the smallest changes, the ones we think cannot make a difference, are immensely important if one wants to alter the way he’s living.

Dan’s out of body experiences are a fundamental part of his changes because they show him, if he is able to understand their meaning, what he’s supposed to do, how he’s supposed to behave and what Socrates wants him learn. One of the most important moments in Dan’s journey is when, during his first out of body experience at a gymnastics meet, he realizes how his mind needs to be all the time. While his eyes are gazing through the crowd, trying to frantically