The Warrior Life

A model that was explored at the A Place Apart weekend was that of Warrior, Mystic, and Monk. These are archetypal symbols that keep showing up throughout human history and continue to speak to our souls today.

I don’t want to spoil the work that Paul, Jim and others have put into it by posting everything that they presented to us last weekend. So I would much rather name in what ways I will incorporate the individual practices of each archetype into my life. Maybe you can get a sense of it through my longings. I hope that Travis and I’s posts would tease you enough that you would inquire more about A Place Apart and even go on a retreat with them, because it is their vision that has inspired me. If you are interested please contact them by clicking here.

Now, the first archetype is the Warrior. This model represents the best longing within me and overall how I wish to see myself. Here are some ways that I am seeking to cultivate a Warrior lifestyle:

- I am working out 2 hours a day, six days a week using strength and cardiovascular training in order that my body may be able to endure the physical battles I may face.
- Developing a diet that best suits my physical needs.
- As often as I am able I am spending at least one hour a day outdoors to reconnect with the earth and to meditate.
- Living out an active nonviolent lifestyle.
- Discerning how I may be more involved in social justice ministries to protect the weak, powerless and oppressed. One way I will do that is by writing to a Death Row inmate.
- Living without fear and insecurity. Whether it be of what other people think of me or how the culture seeks to control me be keeping me afraid. I am practicing fearlessness.
- I plan to participate in a Vision Quest.
- Have a strong desire to learn wilderness survival skills. I am also considering possible training in Tracker School to develop a hypersensitive awareness to my surroundings by learning to track animals and nature observation.

Jesus as Warrior:
Luke 4:1-13
Matthew 8:28-34
Mark 11:15-18
Matthew 26:36-46
Matthew 26:50-56
John 19:1-16

How many examples of the Warrior can you find in Popular culture (i.e. books, film)?

Mmm... a slice of warm Radical Pie

Travis is also going to be blogging his experiences with the A Place Apart weekend. Be sure to bounce back and forth between here and there to get his experiences as well. I appreciated the time spent with him this past weekend as well, and he'll most likely give a fresh perspective to things that I may be missing.

Mennonites on Dr. Phil

After I came in from None (Liturgy of the Hours), I happened to be flipping through the channels and came across an interesting Dr. Phil episode. Click here to read about a father who abducted his 13 and 15 year old daughters from Illinois to Belize to live in a conservative Mennonite community. The show is the second part of a two part series. The first episode aired yesterday.

Awakening Atrophied Spirits

This reflection comes from my retreat with an emerging community known as A Place Apart. There will be more reflections coming...

Something happened. For the first time in years I felt as though I was becoming alive. The numbing that had occurred over the past few years began to wear off. I had feeling again.

Gathering for worship seven times a day in the midst of creation. Walking barefoot through the forest to commune with nature. Paying attention to the rhythms of the day. Living in community. Tracking animals in the forest. No longer afraid of being afraid. Sharing my longings with others who have those same longings. Learning to build a fire without matches or lighters. Feeling more like a Native of this land than a resident alien. Dancing unafraid.

See, I did not know that my Spirit had atrophy. Just like in the film The Matrix, when Neo awakens in the real world and ask why his eyes hurt. Morpheus tells him it is because you have never used them before. This is why Jesus came, to show me that my pseudo life was not really life at all. He came to illustrate to me that there is a new way of living in the Reign/Dance/Dream/of God.

This aliveness does not depend on how much I am entertained by North American Christianity. All they are doing is demanding my attention while defending their systems and beliefs. It is a system of emptiness based on the old rules of the right way to do church. The North American Christian Church will die defending those very systems and beliefs. They have forgotten who Jesus was, who he is. There are many of you who feel the same way I did. You feel as though you are plugged into their system. This is what we have to walk away from. And it may hurt because it is all we have ever known. We have to begin to look at what Jesus was really about; no matter how much that fits into our capacity to understand. The time to awaken from our slumber is now. Jesus shows us how to be alive again. No more atrophied Spirits. An ancient yearning begins. Where will you be?

Awaken
Life is meant to be full
Dare to live it

Our souls have been damaged
By a culture that demands our attention
In every waking moment

Now step apart
And become a part
Of all that was
And all that is
And all that is meant to be 1

1 Taken from Warrior, Mystic, Monk: A Training Manual for Being Fully Alive pg. 10.