Introduction

What is The Inspired Warrior?

This website is an expression of my own unique experience, it’s something very personal to me, but it's also not an uncommon human experience. I’ve formulated this practice regime through my own trials and tribulations, my own learnings, reflections and experiences from a lifetime of both engaged personal practice and periods of being ‘offline’.

 

I don’t claim it to be special, or some newly discovered secret. It’s just one formulation among many formulations made up of tried and tested practices with a particular focus unique to my own journey of discovery and understanding. It’s an invitation for like minded individuals to engage with the process, to practice a different way of being in the world that leads to personal growth and evolution.

 

Part of that is sharing our journey with others, communicating with each other as we unpick the complex tapestry of our ego that we’ve woven thus far on the journey of life. Every moment that goes by in this modern world, it gets harder to know how to live one's life in a way that doesn’t eat away at our values. Back in the day, the internet was hailed as the information super-highway, well now we suffer from information saturation, there’s barely a moment when we are not being bombarded with input from the moment we open our eyes until we drift back into the silence of our nightly sleep.

 

Through my own journey, I’ve found that the simpler things are, the simpler things are! As humans, we can’t help ourselves but overcomplicate everything to the nth degree, when we really don’t need to, this just creates more distraction and diversion. One of my predispositions is to always get to the essence of things, the truth, what’s most important and vital.

 

That tendency is something that has been expressed here in this practice regime by focusing on these three specific mental training groupings or what I call focus elements. That of inspiration, practising awareness and cultivating a warrior like attitude. In a way, these three aspects are just foundational faculties to keep us focused and engaged, to provide a means to open us up to our limitless growth potential and the multitude of different ways we can engage with that evolution. 

 

The 26 practice points contained in the three focus elements are all borne of specific experiences or insights I’ve had. They’re particularly relevant to my journey, but they also hold true as general practice principles. They’re not important in and of themselves, they’re not some sort of fundamental tenet that must be adhered to, but they are a useful way to start engaging with your experience and becoming more aware of what you do and why you do it.

 

Once you start seeing into yourself and your habits, you may find a particular formulation more pertinent to an aspect of yourself that you are working with, then add it to one of the three mental training groupings. I read all 26 practice points every day, but I also have another short list of practices that are particularly relevant to what I think I need to work on or watch out for right now.

 

Personal growth is also about being intuitive, creative and adapting to what’s needed at any given point in time. As you change, so will your practices, and the way you practice. If your practice isn’t evolving, that means you aren’t either, or that you might be blocked and need to shake things up. So don’t be afraid to go with your gut and back yourself, but always with discernment and as much self honesty and wisdom as possible which might include checking in with other trusted practitioners.

 

If your heart is in the right place and you're committed to practice, rigorous honesty and being as aware as possible, your progress is virtually guaranteed. The unique practice regime offered here are the three focus elements keeping us on track. Each one is addressed in more detail with their own individual introductions, so I encourage you to read on and see why their relevance to a framework of practice is so useful.

 

 

Change your mind, change your life!

 

I’ve always had the idea that the human mind, my mind, had great potential, perhaps even limitless, that human consciousness was something far greater than we might ever suspect. It wasn’t until I was in my thirties though, that I came upon higher thought that specifically pointed out the centrality of the mind underpinning all of our experience, its responsibility for our perception of reality and that it could be evolved through mental trainings or a word I would become familiar with later called practice, a catch all designation for all things we do to grow, develop, change and evolve our whole being.

 

It is clear that the human mind has some fundamental similarities that allow all people to perceive a shared objective physical reality, and also to think, feel and emote in similar ways. Depending on our predispositions and conditionings, our experience of that so-called shared reality can be radically different. John Milton is often quoted on this subject with the famous line from Paradise Lost:

 

“The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven.”

 

There’s also this from the Dhammapada which is a collection of verses laying out the primary ethical teachings of the Buddha:

 

Experiences are preceded by mind, led by mind and produced by mind, our minds create the world. If one speaks or acts with an impure mind, suffering inevitably follows.

 

Experiences are preceded by mind, led by mind and produced by mind, our minds create the world. If one speaks or acts with a pure mind, happiness can’t but follow.

 

All our thinking, dispositions, emotional reactions, ways of relating, our likes and dislikes are all conditioned by experiences that have molded us since birth. Our minds are programmed to make sense of ongoing experience as best it can and then decide on strategies to achieve best outcomes. Unfortunately, as is often the case, those learnt strategies may not serve our better interests and overall well being, and at worst, may be damaging, not only for ourselves, but our loved ones, friends, co-workers or anyone that comes into our circle of influence.

 

Fortunately, the same mind that has learnt these patterns of behavior and unhelpful attitudes can also be re-conditioned, it can be changed to respond with more healthy strategies and ways of being. With greater awareness and understanding we can start to turn the ship around and plot a new course for clearer waters. If we’ve become aware that our life is not what we want it to be, that we can’t abide the level of suffering it’s causing us anymore, there is a solution.

 

The cause for change
 

Although I’d had periods of personal growth and development throughout my life, nothing could have prepared me for the difficulties that I would go through that began in 2016. So when I ‘woke up’ and found myself on the other side of the worst of it in 2024, all bets were off. It was like I was starting from scratch, like everything that I thought I knew about myself, about the world, about personal growth and change was now new.

My entire life had been pulled out from under my feet and I was at sea. I’d been out of work for an extended period, I was out of circulation in terms of family and friends, I had no motivation to do anything, I was barely existing. Despite all this and partly because of it, when I came to, I was in a very positive place. When you’ve lost everything and your whole life has been called into question, you're less defined by all your amassed beliefs and preconceptions, so your mind is open to new possibilities. Like Jake Sully says to Mo’at in the first Avatar movie, ‘my cup is empty’, in other words, he’s teachable. This is the definition of ‘beginner’s mind’, a powerfully positive state of being where the mind is receptive, curious and eager to learn.

 

We don’t necessarily need a dramatic or traumatic life experience to cause this mental shift, one that has the potential to reframe our lives. It can be a subtle positive change in attitude that gives us a bit of courage to ask questions and seek answers, to take action. It can be a moment of realisation that things need to change and having a willingness to engage with whatever that is. It may be that there’s actually no choice, the voice inside is saying things aren’t right, and it can’t be ignored anymore. Or maybe it’s just that the status quo has become more painful than the idea of movement and change.

 

Whatever it is, it is a positive moment, and we shouldn’t ignore it and pass it off as a momentary blip in our emotional landscape. Rather, we should make more of it! Moments like these might not come around very often and if you look at the world out there, they probably don’t. An experience of deeper awareness like this can be the catalyst for a string of positive and momentum building changes that transform life in a way that we never dreamed possible. Life really is what you make of it, it is practically limitless in the ways it can unfold and directions it can take. Once you’ve woken up, become fully conscious within that life, anything can happen, it’s up to you. This is the beginning of the journey!

 

The role of awareness
 

The subject of awareness or mindfulness is a big topic and a profound one, it's absolutely vital for any type of personal growth and change and its importance can never be over stated, which is why it has its own focus element dedicated to it in this practice regime.  It’s implicit in all the practices on this website. To be able to change, develop and transform our own consciousness requires something of a revolution of the mind, to use our mind in a way that we rarely ever do. This is mindfulness and awareness!

 

The terms awareness and mindfulness are interchangeable and will be repeatedly used throughout the entire discourse on the website. Their function is to bring us into the present moment, to be fully alive in our experience, to observe what is unfolding in front of us with a grounded, knowing presence, to be aware that we’re aware. This is not our usual mode of being. We are for the most part, constantly forgetting ourselves, a conglomeration of unconscious habits. We tend to think, speak and act without much real conscious knowledge of these things and what effect they are having on ourselves or others. Through this grounded observation, we start to free ourselves from the grip of the supposed solid reality our thoughts, beliefs and emotions present to us. We can start to direct our whole being in more healthy ways that accord more with truth, factuality and the ‘real’, rather than the usual delusive nature of our mind.

 

Awareness doesn’t just observe, it sees into things in a way that brings understanding and is a condition for insightfulness to arise. Insight is an aspect of understanding that goes further than simple knowledge, it’s a ‘seeing into’ that can fundamentally change us and the way we see the world. It's an open minded, open hearted sense of things, it reveals the depths, especially in terms of our own psyche, and in turn, our understanding of others. With greater awareness we also become more conscious of the external dimension, the world out there and our place in it. We can’t help but respond to that knowledge and act accordingly. This is why mindfulness practice is so important and revolutionary on the path of personal change and evolution.

 

Awareness and insightfulness can be greatly improved through the practice of meditation, and if you’re serious about making significant progress in personal growth and change, or just having better mental health, this is a game changer. The ramifications of awareness and meditation for our journey are multitudinous and are addressed more fully in further articles on this website, so I encourage you to read on.

 

Being a student of life
 

In our quest for personal change and growth we will need to avail ourselves of as much relevant and illuminating information as possible. This whole process is about deepening awareness and greater understanding of the human condition and how that applies to us in particular. In fact, we are the object of study so we need to plumb the depths of our being with a caring curiosity and inquisitiveness to see how we tick.

 

Being inspired and motivated about our practice and desire to change will go a long way to powering our drive for knowledge and understanding. However, being on the path of conscious evolution is not just about focusing on ourselves, it’s about being a student of life, being alive to everything that unfolds in our experience, realising it all has value. To be a student of life is to be curious and interested in everything, to desire understanding and clarity on all levels. This quality means we are constantly learning and picking up new information, we want to know how things work, it is like an outward expression of care and concern. It’s embracing the world and wanting to know it, deeply and intimately.

 

Having a curious mindset is another aspect of a positive mind and mental state. We are much more likely to be interested and receptive to life if we are feeling optimistic and engaged. It’s also a quality that is developed through mindfulness and meditation in particular, in fact it’s an explicit part of the practice. Meditation isn’t about forcing ourselves to focus on the breath, it’s about how to cajole our whole mind, all our energies and disparate selves to want to be interested in the breath. We are literally cultivating curiosity and this beautiful quality of appreciative awareness.

 

Awareness also helps us to continuously learn from life by encouraging open mindedness, the willingness to take on new ideas and see other points of view. At the same time, we relax our own views on life. We can also be more aware of whether we are sceptical or rejecting information, not because it’s suspect in quality, but because we simply don’t like it. Are we really seeking the truth or are we simply continuing to find new ways to assert our current position to prop up our ego identity? Are we truly learning, or are we still a prisoner to our confirmation bias?

 

The flip side of curiosity and inquisitiveness that’s cultivated in meditation is receptivity. To bring our interest to the breath or other meditation object, we learn how to be more receptive to its qualities. We’re actually training our faculties and senses to be more tuned in to the quality of our experience. This receptivity is an open hearted, joyful welcoming of the present moment, it anchors us firmly in the here and now and naturally fosters more interest and desire to understand things. 

 

This open hearted and ceaseless desire to learn means that no questions are off the table. In the desire to grow, we ask of ourselves an integrity and rigour we may never have known or practiced. There will be no challenge to one’s ego that’s off limits, no place that we fear to tread, but all in the context of a loving care for oneself to become healthier, stronger, freer and happier, to get to the truth of things with understanding and to continue to manifest our limitless potential. There’s no end to what we can learn and how much we can grow, the only obstacle is being short of engagement and inspiration.

 

Bringing as much interest, curiosity, open mindedness and receptivity as possible means we also avail ourselves of our discerning intelligence, that critical thinking that assesses input to see if it’s truthful, positive and useful and then put it to good use if it is. As this curiosity and desire to learn flowers inside us, it rejigs our relationship to all experience. It means our whole life, every moment becomes meaningful, there is not a single second of our life that is not valuable because there’s always something to learn, whether it be about the world in general or about ourselves. 

 

Preparing our mind

 

So, with all that in mind, I encourage you to prepare yourself to engage with what comes next, to be as positive and aware as possible. Our mind is the most receptive, intuitive and malleable when it’s positive, which means we’re also clearer and more incisive in our thinking. We can take in and consider ideas that we might initially disagree with and have a far more creative response to them.

 

So what typifies a positive mindset, especially in regard to growth and learning? A positive mind is open and receptive and not threatened by alternate points of view. It doesn’t have to win or force its position onto others, or stick doggedly to its position. A positive mind is confident in itself, not in an arrogant way, but in a grounded sense of clarity because it’s affirmed its understanding through experience. At the same time, a positive mind realises that its hard won knowledge is only provisional and subject to change at any point in time, in other words, it’s not attached to it. This makes it free to receive new and potentially valuable information and understandings. It doesn’t fear being wrong or failing, because it knows that these things are incredibly useful to one’s growth, so they’re not to be feared, but to be embraced as great teaching moments.

 

The nature of a positive mental state is one of an optimistic outlook, it’s affirmational and sees possibilities where one might normally see immoveable obstacles. A positive person is far more likely to be heard uttering ‘yes’ than ‘no’ and they’re activated and proactive in their approach to life. Positive people are action based, they’re doers, they don’t just stand around talking about their dreams, they manifest them into reality. Part of the reason for this is that they are confident, in themselves and in their repeated success in actualising change in their lives.

 

Someone with a positive mindset is always embracing life in all its manifestations, there’s a brightness and aliveness to them. They unceasingly engage with everything with the spirit of adventure and see life as truly a journey of discovery. They’re the ones looking under rocks at the beach to see what they’ll find. They were that annoying kid at school that wouldn’t stop asking questions, and still do. Positive people are innately curious about everything and can’t help but notice the out of the ordinary.

 

A positive mind is a mental state of abundance, it sees riches all around it rather than always noticing lack, it is not a poverty mentality. A person in this state doesn’t suffer from the disease of the modern age, entitlement. It doesn’t stand around complaining about what it wants and what’s wrong with everything. This is a fundamental quality of a grateful mind, of appreciative awareness and as a stand alone personal practice, it has the potential to completely transform one’s life.

 

These are just a few aspects of positivity that I’ll expand on in a future dedicated article. In a way, it’s a taster of what’s to come in terms of personal change, but it’s also a reminder to prepare our minds to be in a changeable and growthful state. We can assess what our current state of being is and what we’re bringing to this moment right now? Are we tired or brightly alert, are we looking for answers or an argument, are we receptive or just here for a momentary pleasant distraction from other activity? What are our fundamental beliefs, how do we approach life, what are our tendencies?

If we can start to see ourselves, even at the most basic level, we can have some idea of where we’re starting from.To grow we must consciously decide to take on the challenge of breaking the shackles of the past, to let go of who we think we are. We must cultivate a heroic attitude and decide that rigorous honesty and truth are preferable over continued self-delusion. With that in mind, always take a few moments to take stock as you embark on this adventure and connect with the spirit of change and growth.

 

The ethical dimension

 

An exposition on the journey of change and conscious evolution cannot go without referring to personal morals or ethics. We all have different temperaments, dispositions and social, cultural and religious backgrounds that condition our personal ethics. Regardless of these conditionings, a fundamental aspect of human consciousness is self reflective awareness and the ability to choose, even if mostly unconsciously. Whatever forms our beliefs and views about the world also informs our actions. What we do is what we become, what we are, who we are.

People for the most part, want to avoid suffering and seek happiness and freedom, even if that’s expressed in a misguided or ineffective way. The problem is that many people have no issue with seeking their own happiness at the expense of others, being unaware of or ignoring the fact that everyone else wants to be happy just as much as we do. There’s also the added issues of the damage to the environment and harm to all other living things not human, living sustainably, being aware of our overall harm footprint.
 

The earth is a closed system, as vast as it is, ultimately we are all living in community, and there’s no backup plan if we irreversibly destroy our entire ecosystem. Mostly we live in ignorance of the harm we are causing because we simply don’t recognise that it matters. Maybe we just don’t want to acknowledge it or we don’t want to take responsibility for it, maybe we think ‘why should I, everyone else is doing it’. Becoming conscious is about becoming aware of everything, not just understanding our inner lives, but acknowledging our place in relation to everything outside of ourselves.

 

Everything we do does matter. The entire world we live in is interconnected, perhaps in ways we can’t even imagine. When we turn our life towards personal growth and greater awareness, we add a profound dimension to our lives. In valuing our own life in a way that initiates healthy changes, we wake up a deep loving self care that connects us to life in a profound way, that connects us to all life. Making this connection can encourage a greater ethical sensitivity informing our actions in the world.

This brings a dimension of vitality and higher consciousness that you may not know of, because you haven’t experienced it yet. This way of living brings much greater and deeper happiness, a clear conscience, a sense of wholesomeness and meaning, of being in harmony with oneself and the world at large. When you are living in this way, the vagaries of the world don’t weigh on you, life is simpler and lighter, real peace of mind and heart become a permanent visitor.

 

Humankind’s higher thinking has been sending this message in one form or another since we’ve had the ability to communicate and propagate it down the ages. Whether you believe in karma, god’s will, or the conscience and psychological feedback, there’s no doubt that practicing non-harm and positive actions leads to happier states of existence. It’s what it means to be truly human, to come fully into the humanist perspective, to share this world and empathise with all beings through our shared plight, our collective suffering.

 

I’ve addressed this ethical dimension directly in two other practice points, but it is implicit in all of them and is a fundamental aspect of personal evolution in the truest sense. All personal practices here are about the effective and continual cultivation and maintenance of positive states of mind and attitudes. It also includes the deepening practice of mindfulness and awareness. Any effort in this general direction brings positive feedback and is inherently ethical. Abiding in these states leads one to feel more alive and therefore more connected to the world and life in all its manifestations.

 

It is my firm belief, understanding and repeated experience that a life continually and more deeply connected to an ethical dimension through conscious intentions and actions, is the most meaningful and valuable way we can live. This is not just for us but for our family, friends, colleagues, all other beings that cross our paths, human or otherwise. Long may we all reflect on these points on the chance that it will influence our lives accordingly.