Dan Millman > Quotes

“The journey is what brings us happiness not the destination.”
― Dan Millman, Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives

“There are no ordinary moments.”
― Dan Millman, Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives

“There is no need to search; achievement leads to nowhere. It makes no difference at all, so just be happy now! Love is the only reality of the world, because it is all One, you see. And the only laws are paradox, humor and change. There is no problem, never was, and never will be. Release your struggle, let go of your mind, throw away your concerns, and relax into the world. No need to resist life, just do your best. Open your eyes and see that you are far more than you imagine. You are the world, you are the universe; you are yourself and everyone else, too! It's all the marvelous Play of God. Wake up, regain your humor. Don't worry, just be happy. You are already free!”
― Dan Millman, Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives

“Life has three rules: Paradox, Humor, and Change.

- Paradox: Life is a mystery; don't waste your time trying to figure it out.

- Humor: Keep a sense of humor, especially about yourself. It is a strength beyond all measure

- Change: Know that nothing ever stays the same.”
― Dan Millman, Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives

“If you don't get what you want, you suffer; if you get what you don't want, you suffer; even when you get exactly what you want, you still suffer because you can't hold on to it forever.”
― Dan Millman, Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives

“A warrior does not give up what he loves, he finds the love in what he does”
― Dan Millman, Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives

“Pain is a relatively objective, physical phenomenon; suffering is our psychological resistance to what happens. Events may create physical pain, but they do not in themselves create suffering. Resistance creates suffering. Stress happens when your mind resists what is... The only problem in your life is your mind's resistance to life as it unfolds. ”
― Dan Millman

“Everything you'll ever need to know is within you; the secrets of the universe are imprinted on the cells of your body.”
― Dan Millman, Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives

“everyone tells you what's good for you. they don't want you to find your own answers. they want you to believe theirs.”
― Dan Millman, Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives

“you can live a whole life time never being awake.”
― Dan Millman, Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives

“Moderation? It's mediocrity, fear, and confusion in disguise. It's the devil's dilemma. It's neither doing nor not doing. It's the wobbling compromise that makes no one happy. Moderation is for the bland, the apologetic, for the fence-sitters of the world afraid to take a stand. It's for those afraid to laugh or cry, for those afraid to live or die. Moderation...is lukewarm tea, the devil's own brew.”
― Dan Millman (Author), Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives

“Where are you? Here
What time is it? Now
What are you? This moment.”
― Dan Millman, Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives

“...he asked, "Where are you today, right now?"
Eagerly, I started talking about myself. However, I noticed that I was still being sidetracked from getting answers to my questions. Still, I told him about my distant and recent past and about my inexplicable depressions. He listened patiently and intently, as if he had all the time in the world, until I finished several hours later.
"Very well," he said. "But you still have not answered my question about where you are."
"Yes I did, remember? I told you how I got to where I am today: by hard work."
"Where are you?"
"What do you mean, where am I?"
"Where Are you?" he repeated softly.
"I'm here."
"Where is here?"
"In this office, in this gas station!" I was getting impatient with this game.
"Where is this gas station?"
"In Berkeley?"
"Where is Berkeley?"
"In California?"
"Where is California?"
"In the United States?"
"On a landmass, one of the continents in the Western Hemisphere. Socrates, I..."
"Where are the continents?
I sighed. "On the earth. Are we done yet?"
"Where is the earth?"
"In the solar system, third planet from the sun. The sun is a small star in the Milky Way galaxy, all right?"
"Where is the Milky Way?"
"Oh, brother, " I sighed impatiently, rolling my eyes. "In the universe." I sat back and crossed my arms with finality.
"And where," Socrates smiled, "is the universe?"
"The universe is well, there are theories about how it's shaped..."
"That's not what I asked. Where is it?"
"I don't know - how can I answer that?"
"That is the point. You cannot answer it, and you never will. There is no knowing about it. You are ignorant of where the universe is, and thus, where you are. In fact, you have no knowledge of where anything is or of What anything is or how is came to be. Life is a mystery.
"My ignorance is based on this understanding. Your understanding is based on ignorance. This is why I am a humorous fool, and you are a serious jackass.”
― Dan Millman, Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives

“. . . Action always happens in the present, because it is an expression of the body, which can only exist in the here and now. But the mind is like a phantom that lives only in the past or future. It's only power over you is to draw your attention our of the present.”
― Dan Millman, Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives

“Be happy now, without reason - or you never will be at all.”
― Dan Millman

“There is no path to Happiness. Happiness is the path. There is no path to Love. Love is the path. There is no path to Peace. Peace is the path.”
― Dan Millman

“The first step to change,... is accepting your reality right now. Honoring your process. Compassionate self-awareness leads to change; harsh self-criticism only holds the pattern in place, creating a stubborn and defensive Basic Self. Be gentle with yourself as you would with a child. Be gentle but firm. Give yourself the space to grow. But remember that the timing is in god's hands, not yours. page~147”
― Dan Millman, Sacred Journey of the Peaceful Warrior

“The world's a puzzle; no need to make sense out of it." - Socrates”
― Dan Millman, Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives

“Wake up! If you knew for certain you had a terminal illness--if you had little time left to live--you would waste precious little of it! Well, I'm telling you...you do have a terminal illness: It's called birth. You don't have more than a few years left. No one does! So be happy now, without reason--or you will never be at all.”
― Dan Millman

“The time is now, the place is here. Stay in the present. You can do nothing to change the past, and the future will never come exactly as you plan or hope for.”
― Dan Millman

“The secret of change is to focus all your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”
― Dan Millman, Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives

“It's a thought," I said with a grin.
"That's exactly what it is, Dan - a thought - no more real than the shadow of a shadow. Consciousness is not In the body; the body is In Consciousness. And you Are that Consciousness - no the phantom mind that troubles you so. You are the body, but you are everything else, too. That is what your visions revealed to you. Only the mind resists change. When you relax mindless into the body, you are happy and content and free, sensing no separation. Immortality is Already yours, but not in the same way you imagined or hope for. You have been immortal since before you were born and will be long after the body dissolves. The body is in Consciousness; never born; never dies; only changes. The mind - your ego, personal beliefs, history, and identity - is all that ends at death. And who needs it?" Socrates leaned back into his chair.
"I'm not sure all of that sank in."
"Of course not." He laughed. "Words mean little unless you realize the truth of it yourself. And when you do, you'll be free at last.”
― Dan Millman, Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives

“You haven't yet opened your heart fully, to life, to each moment. The peaceful warrior's way is not about invulnerability, but absolute vulnerability--to the world, to life, and to the Presence you felt. All along I've shown you by example that a warrior's life is not about imagined perfection or victory; it is about love. Love is a warrior's sword; wherever it cuts, it gives life, not death.”
― Dan Millman

“I had lost my mind and fallen into my heart.”
― Dan Millman, Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives

“The seasons do not push one another; neither do clouds race the wind across the sky. All things happen in their own good time.”
― Dan Millman

“If babies held the same tendency toward self-criticism as adults, they might never learn to walk or talk. Can you imagine infants stomping, 'Aarggh! Screwed up again!' Fortunately, babies are free of self-criticism. They just keep practicing.”
― Dan Millman

“So be gentle with yourself; show yourself the same kindness and patience you might show a young child - the child you once were. If you won’t be your own friend, who will be? If, when playing an opponent, you are also opposing yourself, you will be outnumbered.”
― Dan Millman

“The warrior is Here, Now.”
― Dan Millman, Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives

“Unless someone truly has the power to say no, they never truly have the power to say yes”
― Dan Millman

“Live in the Moment", "Empty Your Mind of the Trash"
Wisdom is the Use of Knowledge”
― Dan Millman