Arno Ilgner's Blog, page 7
September 27, 2021
Find Your Inside, Outside
First Ascent Intensity
In 1985, Cal Swoager was poised in the middle of the crux of a thin crack at New River Gorge, West Virginia. He was working on doing the first ascent, ground up, so he didn’t know what to expect about protection or difficulty. The protection turned out to be sparse and the difficulty 5.11c (French 6c+), a challenging grade for on-sight trad climbing for him. Cal was pumped and his mind had an intense desire to escape the situation. He had to make a decision: go up or fall. Feeling as if he would die if he fell, Cal committed to continuing up.
The intensity of the situation revealed to Cal how he’d lived his life. He was known for being a “hard partier,” and right now, he felt he hadn’t prepared to meet death. Cal made an agreement with God. “Get me out of this situation and I swear I’ll become a Christian.” He made it to the top and called the route Leave it to Jesus, fulfilling his first obligation to the agreement he’d made.
Opening The Door
The Oracle at Delphi advises us to “Know thyself.” This is a directive, not to learn about how tall we are or how much we weigh, external manifestations of us. It’s a directive to learn who we are inside. Knowing ourselves is like opening a door. We need to open the door, step out of comfort, and into stress. How do we open this door?
We can open the door through an outdoor activity. Outdoor activities challenge our whole being, body and mind, connecting us with the wider world, putting us face-to-face with an obstacle we need to work through. That work creates information we can analyze, assess and integrate, into an understanding of who we are.
Climbing Creates a Unique Challenge for Learning
Perhaps there’s no better outdoor activity, for finding ourselves, than climbing. Climbing creates a unique challenge for learning: we climb against the force of gravity, toward a definitive end goal, with specific fall consequences based on the protection we choose to place. Gravity pulls us down toward our comfort zones, or toward death if we haven’t made our decisions well. In order to learn, we must apply our minds to assessing the protection and consequences, and apply our bodies against the pull of gravity and the pull of our comfort zones, and step up into the stress.
Climbing is also very unforgiving for limiting behaviors. Some climbers get frustrated because they aren’t progressing, make excuses for lack of skill, or blame others for their failures. Yet, the rock doesn’t care about our frustration, excuses, or blaming behaviors. The rock only reflects what is already inside us.
Lost In the Mind
If we’re lost in the limiting behaviors of the mind, we’ll never open that door. By noticing that limiting behaviors aren’t helpful, that the rock doesn’t care about us, that it’s us that need to change, we begin opening the door. We develop the ability to witness the mind and not fall victim to it. We can witness the mind think and choose which thoughts to act on. If we have thoughts about frustration, excuses or blaming, then we don’t act on them. If we have thoughts about actions we can take to meet the challenge, then we can act on them. This witnessing ability is the door that opens to our inside, so we can step through and know ourselves.
I climbed Leave it to Jesus a few years ago. I was poised in the middle of the crux, with my last protection below my feet. One move separated me from a better hold and the possibility of more protection. The crack had thinned to a seam, except for a one-finger pocket. I needed to stick my finger in the pocket, step up and reach to where the crack opened up. I was pumped and didn’t know if I could make the move. My mind wanted to give up. Giving up is a strong desire. But, warriors don’t do that. Once warriors have weighed the consequences and chosen to step through the door into the stress, they commit. They witness the mind’s desire for comfort and redirect their attention to the task. I stepped through the door and made the move.
Who we find on the other side of that door is unique to each of us.
The intensity of the situation Cal experienced opened the door to who he was inside and revealed a desire to find deeper meaning in his life through the Christian religion. For me, the route gave me confidence to witness the mind’s intense desire to stay in its comfort zone—to keep the door closed—and my ability to open it.
Outdoor climbing provides a vehicle for finding who we are inside. We’re engaged in a wider world, which requires that we connect with it, if we are to survive. The intensity of climbing positions us at the door to our inside world. It’s stressful to open and step through that door. The mind won’t want to do it when we’re in the middle of the challenge. It’s the witness that can reach out to grab the doorknob, turn it, and step through.
Practice Tip: Open the Door
It’s important to take appropriate risks, so find a route slightly above your limit that has yes-fall consequences. Set an intention to stay committed to climbing. Don’t decide to fall when the mind wants to escape.
Pay attention to the thoughts in your mind especially when you’re in a similar situation as Cal and I experienced on Leave it to Jesus. This is “the most interesting space” in mental training. It’s the door to your inner world. Open the door by witnessing the mind’s desire to escape. Then, step through by making the next move. You’ll learn more about who you are, whether you make the move or fall.
In 1985, Cal Swoager was poised in the middle of the crux of a thin crack at New River Gorge, West Virginia. He was working on doing the first ascent, ground up, so he didn’t know what to expect about protection or difficulty. The protection turned out to be sparse and the difficulty 5.11c (French 6c+), a challenging grade for on-sight trad climbing for him. Cal was pumped and his mind had an intense desire to escape the situation. He had to make a decision: go up or fall. Feeling as if he would die if he fell, Cal committed to continuing up.
The intensity of the situation revealed to Cal how he’d lived his life. He was known for being a “hard partier,” and right now, he felt he hadn’t prepared to meet death. Cal made an agreement with God. “Get me out of this situation and I swear I’ll become a Christian.” He made it to the top and called the route Leave it to Jesus, fulfilling his first obligation to the agreement he’d made.
Opening The Door
The Oracle at Delphi advises us to “Know thyself.” This is a directive, not to learn about how tall we are or how much we weigh, external manifestations of us. It’s a directive to learn who we are inside. Knowing ourselves is like opening a door. We need to open the door, step out of comfort, and into stress. How do we open this door?
We can open the door through an outdoor activity. Outdoor activities challenge our whole being, body and mind, connecting us with the wider world, putting us face-to-face with an obstacle we need to work through. That work creates information we can analyze, assess and integrate, into an understanding of who we are.
Climbing Creates a Unique Challenge for Learning
Perhaps there’s no better outdoor activity, for finding ourselves, than climbing. Climbing creates a unique challenge for learning: we climb against the force of gravity, toward a definitive end goal, with specific fall consequences based on the protection we choose to place. Gravity pulls us down toward our comfort zones, or toward death if we haven’t made our decisions well. In order to learn, we must apply our minds to assessing the protection and consequences, and apply our bodies against the pull of gravity and the pull of our comfort zones, and step up into the stress.
Climbing is also very unforgiving for limiting behaviors. Some climbers get frustrated because they aren’t progressing, make excuses for lack of skill, or blame others for their failures. Yet, the rock doesn’t care about our frustration, excuses, or blaming behaviors. The rock only reflects what is already inside us.
Lost In the Mind
If we’re lost in the limiting behaviors of the mind, we’ll never open that door. By noticing that limiting behaviors aren’t helpful, that the rock doesn’t care about us, that it’s us that need to change, we begin opening the door. We develop the ability to witness the mind and not fall victim to it. We can witness the mind think and choose which thoughts to act on. If we have thoughts about frustration, excuses or blaming, then we don’t act on them. If we have thoughts about actions we can take to meet the challenge, then we can act on them. This witnessing ability is the door that opens to our inside, so we can step through and know ourselves.
I climbed Leave it to Jesus a few years ago. I was poised in the middle of the crux, with my last protection below my feet. One move separated me from a better hold and the possibility of more protection. The crack had thinned to a seam, except for a one-finger pocket. I needed to stick my finger in the pocket, step up and reach to where the crack opened up. I was pumped and didn’t know if I could make the move. My mind wanted to give up. Giving up is a strong desire. But, warriors don’t do that. Once warriors have weighed the consequences and chosen to step through the door into the stress, they commit. They witness the mind’s desire for comfort and redirect their attention to the task. I stepped through the door and made the move.
Who we find on the other side of that door is unique to each of us.
The intensity of the situation Cal experienced opened the door to who he was inside and revealed a desire to find deeper meaning in his life through the Christian religion. For me, the route gave me confidence to witness the mind’s intense desire to stay in its comfort zone—to keep the door closed—and my ability to open it.
Outdoor climbing provides a vehicle for finding who we are inside. We’re engaged in a wider world, which requires that we connect with it, if we are to survive. The intensity of climbing positions us at the door to our inside world. It’s stressful to open and step through that door. The mind won’t want to do it when we’re in the middle of the challenge. It’s the witness that can reach out to grab the doorknob, turn it, and step through.
Practice Tip: Open the Door
It’s important to take appropriate risks, so find a route slightly above your limit that has yes-fall consequences. Set an intention to stay committed to climbing. Don’t decide to fall when the mind wants to escape.
Pay attention to the thoughts in your mind especially when you’re in a similar situation as Cal and I experienced on Leave it to Jesus. This is “the most interesting space” in mental training. It’s the door to your inner world. Open the door by witnessing the mind’s desire to escape. Then, step through by making the next move. You’ll learn more about who you are, whether you make the move or fall.
September 20, 2021
Warrior Mindset Podcast With Dharma Moon
What is the warrior mindset really?
We hear a lot about it these days. And, there are many ways one could understand it. Here’s one of those ways and it comes from the Shambhala Tibetan Buddhist tradition.
A little background first. About a decade ago, I taught a clinic during the Smith Rock Detour event in Oregon. Melissa Mattern was one of my students. Now she works for David Nichtern of Dharma Moon, a company committed to teaching mindfulness and meditation with a Buddhist foundation. She suggested to David to interview me for his Be Here Now Network podcast. Thanks Melissa! That’s what we did recently and what I’m sharing with you today.
David is a disciple of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche who brought the Shambhala Tibetan Buddhist tradition to the West. He also wrote Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior. We examined how The Warrior’s Way® method aligns with the kind of warrior mindset coming from Shambhala. Below are links and some excerpts:
Links, plus you can access it on your favorite podcast app:
On the Dharma Moon website
On their youtube channel
Excerpts: First, a few statements I made that David put on his website:
“Mental training, it reveals what’s inside. You start inquiring, ‘What’s in here?’ and sometimes you find out things that you don’t necessarily like. But we can start working with liking it as much as we can, or at least changing how we view it; seeing it as an opportunity that we can learn and draw from what’s being revealed, so that we can expand our awareness and become more authentic human beings.”
“Climbing was like a really tangible metaphor for being able to understand concepts that make up mental training, so that we can then bridge it to becoming better climbers, but also to living our lives more intentionally.”
“Once we step off the ground onto the rock, we value the work that we’re doing for its own sake. In other words, we blend with the rock, looking for the easiest way to climb, going towards something inspiring. So we’re going to be going through stressful situations, but we do it in a self-compassionate way, allowing ourselves to be vulnerable so we can learn, adapt ourselves to the rock, to the external situation, so we can blend with it and work with it.”
Now a few moments he found particularly relevant:
Facing Fear & Becoming a More Authentic Human Being (18:28)
David shares his teacher Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche’s thoughts and feelings on the warrior tradition being a global phenomenon that goes beyond culture and how—much like the idea of the spiritual kingdom of Shambhala—it is accessible to everyone open enough to face their fear with a smile, gentleness, and inquisitive curiosity. This prompts Arno to offer tips on facing fear and overcoming perceived personal weaknesses using his method of mental training involving self-compassion, humility, and vulnerability.
Climbing Metaphor: Focused Goal, Inspired Motivation, & Intrinsic Value (45:00)
Sharing The Warrior’s Way®, Arno relays a three-pointed metaphor for climbing which can be applied to any external situation. Particularly helpful in facing stressful or challenging circumstances, this method can help us blend, adapt, and grow through self-compassion, vulnerability, and flow.
We hear a lot about it these days. And, there are many ways one could understand it. Here’s one of those ways and it comes from the Shambhala Tibetan Buddhist tradition.
A little background first. About a decade ago, I taught a clinic during the Smith Rock Detour event in Oregon. Melissa Mattern was one of my students. Now she works for David Nichtern of Dharma Moon, a company committed to teaching mindfulness and meditation with a Buddhist foundation. She suggested to David to interview me for his Be Here Now Network podcast. Thanks Melissa! That’s what we did recently and what I’m sharing with you today.
David is a disciple of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche who brought the Shambhala Tibetan Buddhist tradition to the West. He also wrote Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior. We examined how The Warrior’s Way® method aligns with the kind of warrior mindset coming from Shambhala. Below are links and some excerpts:
Links, plus you can access it on your favorite podcast app:
On the Dharma Moon website
On their youtube channel
Excerpts: First, a few statements I made that David put on his website:
“Mental training, it reveals what’s inside. You start inquiring, ‘What’s in here?’ and sometimes you find out things that you don’t necessarily like. But we can start working with liking it as much as we can, or at least changing how we view it; seeing it as an opportunity that we can learn and draw from what’s being revealed, so that we can expand our awareness and become more authentic human beings.”
“Climbing was like a really tangible metaphor for being able to understand concepts that make up mental training, so that we can then bridge it to becoming better climbers, but also to living our lives more intentionally.”
“Once we step off the ground onto the rock, we value the work that we’re doing for its own sake. In other words, we blend with the rock, looking for the easiest way to climb, going towards something inspiring. So we’re going to be going through stressful situations, but we do it in a self-compassionate way, allowing ourselves to be vulnerable so we can learn, adapt ourselves to the rock, to the external situation, so we can blend with it and work with it.”
Now a few moments he found particularly relevant:
Facing Fear & Becoming a More Authentic Human Being (18:28)
David shares his teacher Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche’s thoughts and feelings on the warrior tradition being a global phenomenon that goes beyond culture and how—much like the idea of the spiritual kingdom of Shambhala—it is accessible to everyone open enough to face their fear with a smile, gentleness, and inquisitive curiosity. This prompts Arno to offer tips on facing fear and overcoming perceived personal weaknesses using his method of mental training involving self-compassion, humility, and vulnerability.
Climbing Metaphor: Focused Goal, Inspired Motivation, & Intrinsic Value (45:00)
Sharing The Warrior’s Way®, Arno relays a three-pointed metaphor for climbing which can be applied to any external situation. Particularly helpful in facing stressful or challenging circumstances, this method can help us blend, adapt, and grow through self-compassion, vulnerability, and flow.
September 13, 2021
Now or Never
Kevin Jorgeson was interviewed in 2015 by Training Beta. He talked about the challenges he faced on pitch 15 of the Dawn Wall on El Capitan in Yosemite Valley California, during the free ascent with Tommy Caldwell. Kevin talked about how the stakes were heightened and how that drew out the best in him. He had to give his best effort because he couldn’t come back later and still be part of the first free ascent. It was now or never.
What is it about heightened stakes that can draw out the best in us?
When warriors are engaged in a deadly duel, meaning one of them will die, they’re facing a life and death situation. The consequences are severe. If they don’t use their minds and bodies effectively, they’re likely to die. This is an extreme case of heightened stakes.
Heightened stakes, or severe consequences, narrow our focus, informing us that we’re facing a now or never situation. We either do what we need to do now, or we suffer the consequences. There are no second chances. Such situations require us to focus on the here and now. We need to focus our attention here, in the particular situation we’re facing, and now, this unique moment.
Warriors must be focused here, on the battle itself, and now, this moment.
If they focus on their desire to survive, then their attention leaves the present moment and they don’t fight effectively. Instead of their attention being focused here and now, it’s distracted to the future: surviving the battle. Doing this shifts their attention into the future and focuses it on what they can’t control. The only thing they can control is the process of fighting, now.
Kevin’s attention needed to be focused here and now, in the present moment, in order to be effective on pitch 15. He wasn’t facing death consequences like two warriors in a battle. The consequence he faced was not being part of the first free ascent of the Dawn Wall. In other words, it was now or never. His attention needed to be focused in the present moment, on the here and now. “Here” was pitch 15. That was the only place this event would occur. “Now” was the present moment. This was the only time the event would occur. If he focused his attention on his desire to be part of the first free ascent, then he would be focusing on the end goal, which he couldn’t control. The only thing he could control was the process of giving effort, now.
Most of us suffer in life and performance because the stakes aren’t high enough. Death seems too far away. We think that there’s always tomorrow to do what’s important in our lives. Essentially, we live for tomorrow instead of living today. Life happens today, in the present moment, not the future. We need to decide how we choose to live our lives. We can choose to live today, as if we’ll die tomorrow. That heightens the stakes, narrows our attention, and helps us focus on what’s most important. It also demands and draws out the best in us.
Practice Tip: Heighten the Stakes
On-sight climbing provides a unique opportunity: we either on-sight or not. We can’t come back to the route and do another on-sight ascent. In other words, it’s now or never.
Pick three routes to on-sight, one below your limit, one at your limit, and one above your limit. For example, if your limit is 5.11c then pick: 5.11b, 5.11c, 5.11d.
Heighten the stakes. Remind yourself that it’s now or never. This is your one chance to on-sight these routes. Then, forget about the goal of on-sighting the route. Focus your attention on giving your best effort.
What is it about heightened stakes that can draw out the best in us?
When warriors are engaged in a deadly duel, meaning one of them will die, they’re facing a life and death situation. The consequences are severe. If they don’t use their minds and bodies effectively, they’re likely to die. This is an extreme case of heightened stakes.
Heightened stakes, or severe consequences, narrow our focus, informing us that we’re facing a now or never situation. We either do what we need to do now, or we suffer the consequences. There are no second chances. Such situations require us to focus on the here and now. We need to focus our attention here, in the particular situation we’re facing, and now, this unique moment.
Warriors must be focused here, on the battle itself, and now, this moment.
If they focus on their desire to survive, then their attention leaves the present moment and they don’t fight effectively. Instead of their attention being focused here and now, it’s distracted to the future: surviving the battle. Doing this shifts their attention into the future and focuses it on what they can’t control. The only thing they can control is the process of fighting, now.
Kevin’s attention needed to be focused here and now, in the present moment, in order to be effective on pitch 15. He wasn’t facing death consequences like two warriors in a battle. The consequence he faced was not being part of the first free ascent of the Dawn Wall. In other words, it was now or never. His attention needed to be focused in the present moment, on the here and now. “Here” was pitch 15. That was the only place this event would occur. “Now” was the present moment. This was the only time the event would occur. If he focused his attention on his desire to be part of the first free ascent, then he would be focusing on the end goal, which he couldn’t control. The only thing he could control was the process of giving effort, now.
Most of us suffer in life and performance because the stakes aren’t high enough. Death seems too far away. We think that there’s always tomorrow to do what’s important in our lives. Essentially, we live for tomorrow instead of living today. Life happens today, in the present moment, not the future. We need to decide how we choose to live our lives. We can choose to live today, as if we’ll die tomorrow. That heightens the stakes, narrows our attention, and helps us focus on what’s most important. It also demands and draws out the best in us.
Practice Tip: Heighten the Stakes
On-sight climbing provides a unique opportunity: we either on-sight or not. We can’t come back to the route and do another on-sight ascent. In other words, it’s now or never.
Pick three routes to on-sight, one below your limit, one at your limit, and one above your limit. For example, if your limit is 5.11c then pick: 5.11b, 5.11c, 5.11d.
Heighten the stakes. Remind yourself that it’s now or never. This is your one chance to on-sight these routes. Then, forget about the goal of on-sighting the route. Focus your attention on giving your best effort.
September 6, 2021
Redefining Success
David Nichtern is the founder of Dharma Moon. His recent blog post, Redefining Success Through Mindfulness, draws on Buddhist principles to redefine success.
How do you define success? What makes you feel successful? What makes you feel satisfied in life?
I know I’ve struggled with this my whole life. I notice that I feel more satisfied when I’ve had a productive day. Why would that be? One aspect seems to be the need for growth. When we’re productive, we grow. Our work is producing something as we connect with others in collaborations. But there’s another side to it. If my ego needs to be validated by being productive, then my satisfaction is dependent on external events. That means my satisfaction will be “up and down” based on my productivity.
David was interviewed for this blog by MJ Ruff, an Oglala Lakota Indian from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. See what you think about these points they discussed:
Connection:
What drew David to Buddhism was a recognition of connection. Connection? ...to what? Connection is multi-faceted. We can develop healthier and more complete connections with ourselves, others, and nature. I think we can see the value in this. How quickly we forget though. What value does connection have in your life?
David says that through Buddhism, we learn that a career can be fueled by Dharma, which points us to a truer nature of reality. Dharma can elevate the principles that inform how we conduct ourselves. One aspect of true reality is connectedness, such as in relationships. How could we create careers fueled by this truth?
Warriorship:
Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche was one of several people who brought Buddhism to America. David learned from and was influenced by him. Two things he introduced to David were spiritual materialism and Shambhala warriorship.
Spiritual materialism describes the negation of spirit that upholds the material world as superior.
Shambhala warriorship is about bravery, confidence, and authenticity; it has nothing to do with violence. Rather, it’s imbued both with gentleness and fearlessness.
Don’t we all get lost in spiritual materialism? When we do, we can feel lost in life. Why? Because it’s illusory. A truer reality is found in the spirit. Shambhala warriorship moves us in that direction. Developing the bravery to face our lives leads to connection and a truer reality. We find our authentic selves. Can you be gentle and fierce at the same time?
Living in an in-between state:
“Bardo” means in-between. For example, it’s how to negotiate an in-between state, between life and death, toward truth. Another type of Bardo is the kind we experience in our everyday lives through the numerous experiences of transition we experience everyday. David says that the Bardo is a tremendous opportunity for us to experience reality as it is. It creates a gap in the continuity we feel and forces us to look at things with fresh eyes.
I’ve found that the ability to live in an in-between state is an extremely important quality for warriors to develop. At a fundamental level, it’s a state between grasping for comfort and rejecting stress. Can you live in such a state? If so, what would it look like?
Failure or success:
David emphasizes that how we treat failure is very unproductive. They demotivate us. Surrendering to the wisdom of failure offers us an opportunity to learn and grow into warriors. If we learn from our failures, then how can we see them as defeats? David clarifies that surrender doesn’t mean “giving up” or “that we’re not worthy”. Rather, by “surrender” he means “opening”. If we surrender properly, then our heart opens. We don’t surrender to the ego; we surrender to compassion and wisdom.
Surrendering as an opening, opens us to the possibility of success. An incredibly important aspect of warriorship is changing our relationship with failure. It is an opportunity for growth. How have failures informed and directed your life?
Simplicity:
MJ says the ultimate goal for Lakota people is simplicity. They pray that people “get simple.”
David shares that within Buddhism, the highest state of mind is called the “ordinary mind”. I also like the Zen idea of finding the extraordinary in the ordinary. Simplicity and valuing the ordinariness of life can move us beyond spiritual materialism toward more meaningful lives. Can you see the extraordinary in the ordinary?
Practice Tip: Warriorship
How can you apply all these qualities in life? Here are some ideas and questions:
Connection: Constantly tell yourself you exist in relationships. You have a relationship with the air you breathe, with the chair you sit on, with the person you have a conversation with… How does a focus on relationships connect you to a truer reality?
Warriorship (fierce gentleness): Can you be fierce and gentle at the same time? Yes you can. Be fierce by confronting others about your needs, but do it with gentleness, kindness, and caring. Can you be both fierce and gentle?
In-between: Notice your tendency to grasp for comfort by wanting to resolve stressful situations quickly. Notice your tendency to reject stress when it occurs. Don’t grasp or reject; remain in-between. Relax into it and breathe. Can you be patient and see what happens?
Redefining failure: You will make mistakes and fail many times as you learn. How could it be otherwise? Redefine mistakes and failures as necessary for your growth. Can you welcome them?
Simplicity: Why are you striving for complexity in your life, surrounding yourself with so many material possessions? Are you tying your self-worth in it? What would your life be like if you simplified it?
How do you define success? What makes you feel successful? What makes you feel satisfied in life?
I know I’ve struggled with this my whole life. I notice that I feel more satisfied when I’ve had a productive day. Why would that be? One aspect seems to be the need for growth. When we’re productive, we grow. Our work is producing something as we connect with others in collaborations. But there’s another side to it. If my ego needs to be validated by being productive, then my satisfaction is dependent on external events. That means my satisfaction will be “up and down” based on my productivity.
David was interviewed for this blog by MJ Ruff, an Oglala Lakota Indian from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. See what you think about these points they discussed:
Connection:
What drew David to Buddhism was a recognition of connection. Connection? ...to what? Connection is multi-faceted. We can develop healthier and more complete connections with ourselves, others, and nature. I think we can see the value in this. How quickly we forget though. What value does connection have in your life?
David says that through Buddhism, we learn that a career can be fueled by Dharma, which points us to a truer nature of reality. Dharma can elevate the principles that inform how we conduct ourselves. One aspect of true reality is connectedness, such as in relationships. How could we create careers fueled by this truth?
Warriorship:
Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche was one of several people who brought Buddhism to America. David learned from and was influenced by him. Two things he introduced to David were spiritual materialism and Shambhala warriorship.
Spiritual materialism describes the negation of spirit that upholds the material world as superior.
Shambhala warriorship is about bravery, confidence, and authenticity; it has nothing to do with violence. Rather, it’s imbued both with gentleness and fearlessness.
Don’t we all get lost in spiritual materialism? When we do, we can feel lost in life. Why? Because it’s illusory. A truer reality is found in the spirit. Shambhala warriorship moves us in that direction. Developing the bravery to face our lives leads to connection and a truer reality. We find our authentic selves. Can you be gentle and fierce at the same time?
Living in an in-between state:
“Bardo” means in-between. For example, it’s how to negotiate an in-between state, between life and death, toward truth. Another type of Bardo is the kind we experience in our everyday lives through the numerous experiences of transition we experience everyday. David says that the Bardo is a tremendous opportunity for us to experience reality as it is. It creates a gap in the continuity we feel and forces us to look at things with fresh eyes.
I’ve found that the ability to live in an in-between state is an extremely important quality for warriors to develop. At a fundamental level, it’s a state between grasping for comfort and rejecting stress. Can you live in such a state? If so, what would it look like?
Failure or success:
David emphasizes that how we treat failure is very unproductive. They demotivate us. Surrendering to the wisdom of failure offers us an opportunity to learn and grow into warriors. If we learn from our failures, then how can we see them as defeats? David clarifies that surrender doesn’t mean “giving up” or “that we’re not worthy”. Rather, by “surrender” he means “opening”. If we surrender properly, then our heart opens. We don’t surrender to the ego; we surrender to compassion and wisdom.
Surrendering as an opening, opens us to the possibility of success. An incredibly important aspect of warriorship is changing our relationship with failure. It is an opportunity for growth. How have failures informed and directed your life?
Simplicity:
MJ says the ultimate goal for Lakota people is simplicity. They pray that people “get simple.”
David shares that within Buddhism, the highest state of mind is called the “ordinary mind”. I also like the Zen idea of finding the extraordinary in the ordinary. Simplicity and valuing the ordinariness of life can move us beyond spiritual materialism toward more meaningful lives. Can you see the extraordinary in the ordinary?
Practice Tip: Warriorship
How can you apply all these qualities in life? Here are some ideas and questions:
Connection: Constantly tell yourself you exist in relationships. You have a relationship with the air you breathe, with the chair you sit on, with the person you have a conversation with… How does a focus on relationships connect you to a truer reality?
Warriorship (fierce gentleness): Can you be fierce and gentle at the same time? Yes you can. Be fierce by confronting others about your needs, but do it with gentleness, kindness, and caring. Can you be both fierce and gentle?
In-between: Notice your tendency to grasp for comfort by wanting to resolve stressful situations quickly. Notice your tendency to reject stress when it occurs. Don’t grasp or reject; remain in-between. Relax into it and breathe. Can you be patient and see what happens?
Redefining failure: You will make mistakes and fail many times as you learn. How could it be otherwise? Redefine mistakes and failures as necessary for your growth. Can you welcome them?
Simplicity: Why are you striving for complexity in your life, surrounding yourself with so many material possessions? Are you tying your self-worth in it? What would your life be like if you simplified it?
August 30, 2021
Reinvent Yourself
A saying such as “Don’t reinvent the wheel” contains a gem of wisdom: don’t reinvent something that already works. But then someone comes along and says exactly the opposite, “reinvent the wheel,” and says it contains a gem of wisdom: question what works. Which of these sayings is correct? Or, is there wisdom in each?
In the 1970s, a new generation of climbers wanted to reinvent climbing. They thought the mixed-aid/free climbing of the previous generation was outdated. The new generation climbed ground-up, the same as the previous generation, but believed that free climbing, using only one’s physical and mental skill, was a better style. One climbed without pre-inspecting the route, creating an on-sight free ascent. This style of climbing evolved, until it became so strict that if one ever fell off a route, one could never go back to it. Falling was seen as a sign of failure.
In the 1980s, a new generation came along to reinvent climbing. The new generation valued the free ascent, the same as the 1970s generation, but questioned the on-sight, no pre-inspection climbing style. They preferred a performance-based approach, utilizing a new tactic called “hang-dogging,” which allowed them to hang on protection to pre-inspect the route and figure out the easiest way to climb it. They worked on the route until they could do it in one-effort, called a redpoint ascent. This performance-based approach changed how they understood falling. Falling wasn’t seen as failure, but as part of the learning process that was necessary for success.
The 1970s generation thought hang-dogging was cheating because it allowed one to rest on protection, making it easier to gain knowledge about the climb, thus diminishing the climbing challenge. The 1980s climbers thought their tactics simply redefined the challenge. Instead of the challenge being on-sight climbing where falling was considered failure, it was redefined as pushing past one’s limit where falls were part of the learning process.
The 1970s climbers saw the wisdom of not reinventing the ground-up strategy of the previous generation, but wanted to reinvent the style of how they climbed. They embraced the stress of on-sight free climbing. Over time, however, what was once a desire to engage stress and learn new ways of climbing, turned into a desire to stay in the comfort zone of what they had learned. They didn’t want to reinvent climbing or themselves.
The 1980s climbers saw the wisdom of not reinventing the one-effort, free ascent strategy of the previous generation, but wanted to reinvent the style of how they did this. They embraced the stress of falling and the work that went into climbing more difficult routes. Over time, they too resisted how climbing was changing. The next generation wanted to reinvent climbing in the gym and through bouldering. The 1980s climbers thought it was too easy to just go to a gym, or boulder, to climb. They latched onto the comfort of the climbing style they’d invented.
The mind becomes nostalgic about how climbing was when we were elite athletes, instead of embracing new ways of challenging ourselves. We reflect on how much better (and harder) climbing was in the “good old days” than embracing the stress of how climbing is changing. This tendency, of course, is true for all generations.
There’s wisdom in not relearning everything that was invented in the past. We can stand on the shoulders of our ancestors and benefit from what they invented. There’s also wisdom in learning new ways to do things. We can build on what our ancestors invented and invent new things. Therefore, there is wisdom in both not reinventing and reinventing climbing and ourselves. There are also limitations, which manifest themselves when we allow the mind to latch onto the comfort of the past without embracing the stress of the future.
The challenge is to be aware of the mind’s tendency to seek comfort and not get drawn in by it.
What was once challenging can become a source of comfort, especially when we consider mental training. Unconsciousness surrounds this mental tendency so it’s critical to continually emphasize developing awareness in our mental training.
The world is constantly changing as new generations are born and we need to evolve with them. We don’t have to reinvent everything previous generations invented. There’s some great value in it. We can use that knowledge and also seek new ways to reinvent ourselves. That’s a process that doesn’t stop. If we’re aware, we can continue to reinvent ourselves.
Practice Tip: Mental Flexibility
Mental training addresses the mind, it’s strengths and limitations. It also addresses the learning process. Therefore, mental toughness is not the approach the Warrior’s Way uses in mental training. To develop the mind and learn, we need mental flexibility. We need to bring awareness to the mind’s tendency to latch onto comfortable habits and beliefs.
What mental beliefs are you latching onto as a source of comfort? Do you think about how the “good old days” were better than how it is today? Do you get nostalgic? Stop! You’re allowing your mind to wallow in the comfort of how life was, not how it is today. Rather, what’s great about today? Focus on that. It’ll be a little more stressful, but that stress will reinvent you.
In the 1970s, a new generation of climbers wanted to reinvent climbing. They thought the mixed-aid/free climbing of the previous generation was outdated. The new generation climbed ground-up, the same as the previous generation, but believed that free climbing, using only one’s physical and mental skill, was a better style. One climbed without pre-inspecting the route, creating an on-sight free ascent. This style of climbing evolved, until it became so strict that if one ever fell off a route, one could never go back to it. Falling was seen as a sign of failure.
In the 1980s, a new generation came along to reinvent climbing. The new generation valued the free ascent, the same as the 1970s generation, but questioned the on-sight, no pre-inspection climbing style. They preferred a performance-based approach, utilizing a new tactic called “hang-dogging,” which allowed them to hang on protection to pre-inspect the route and figure out the easiest way to climb it. They worked on the route until they could do it in one-effort, called a redpoint ascent. This performance-based approach changed how they understood falling. Falling wasn’t seen as failure, but as part of the learning process that was necessary for success.
The 1970s generation thought hang-dogging was cheating because it allowed one to rest on protection, making it easier to gain knowledge about the climb, thus diminishing the climbing challenge. The 1980s climbers thought their tactics simply redefined the challenge. Instead of the challenge being on-sight climbing where falling was considered failure, it was redefined as pushing past one’s limit where falls were part of the learning process.
The 1970s climbers saw the wisdom of not reinventing the ground-up strategy of the previous generation, but wanted to reinvent the style of how they climbed. They embraced the stress of on-sight free climbing. Over time, however, what was once a desire to engage stress and learn new ways of climbing, turned into a desire to stay in the comfort zone of what they had learned. They didn’t want to reinvent climbing or themselves.
The 1980s climbers saw the wisdom of not reinventing the one-effort, free ascent strategy of the previous generation, but wanted to reinvent the style of how they did this. They embraced the stress of falling and the work that went into climbing more difficult routes. Over time, they too resisted how climbing was changing. The next generation wanted to reinvent climbing in the gym and through bouldering. The 1980s climbers thought it was too easy to just go to a gym, or boulder, to climb. They latched onto the comfort of the climbing style they’d invented.
The mind becomes nostalgic about how climbing was when we were elite athletes, instead of embracing new ways of challenging ourselves. We reflect on how much better (and harder) climbing was in the “good old days” than embracing the stress of how climbing is changing. This tendency, of course, is true for all generations.
There’s wisdom in not relearning everything that was invented in the past. We can stand on the shoulders of our ancestors and benefit from what they invented. There’s also wisdom in learning new ways to do things. We can build on what our ancestors invented and invent new things. Therefore, there is wisdom in both not reinventing and reinventing climbing and ourselves. There are also limitations, which manifest themselves when we allow the mind to latch onto the comfort of the past without embracing the stress of the future.
The challenge is to be aware of the mind’s tendency to seek comfort and not get drawn in by it.
What was once challenging can become a source of comfort, especially when we consider mental training. Unconsciousness surrounds this mental tendency so it’s critical to continually emphasize developing awareness in our mental training.
The world is constantly changing as new generations are born and we need to evolve with them. We don’t have to reinvent everything previous generations invented. There’s some great value in it. We can use that knowledge and also seek new ways to reinvent ourselves. That’s a process that doesn’t stop. If we’re aware, we can continue to reinvent ourselves.
Practice Tip: Mental Flexibility
Mental training addresses the mind, it’s strengths and limitations. It also addresses the learning process. Therefore, mental toughness is not the approach the Warrior’s Way uses in mental training. To develop the mind and learn, we need mental flexibility. We need to bring awareness to the mind’s tendency to latch onto comfortable habits and beliefs.
What mental beliefs are you latching onto as a source of comfort? Do you think about how the “good old days” were better than how it is today? Do you get nostalgic? Stop! You’re allowing your mind to wallow in the comfort of how life was, not how it is today. Rather, what’s great about today? Focus on that. It’ll be a little more stressful, but that stress will reinvent you.
August 23, 2021
The Power of Humility?
“We all know that humility is a moral virtue” begins a blog by Daniel Coyle. Do we really believe this? If so, then how does it improve being an effective academic, leader, and human being?
Coyle references a 2016 Washington Post article by Ashley Merryman titled Leaders are more powerful when they’re humble, new research shows. In it, she takes on the topic of humility directly, supporting it with scientific research. Here are some things she found:
True humility is when we have an accurate assessment of both our strengths and weaknesses, and see these in the context of the larger whole. We’re both grounded and liberated by this knowledge. We recognize our weaknesses, which motivate us to grow.
Humility helps us embrace ambiguity and the unknown. We even enjoy finding out when we’re wrong. We’re also more willing to accept help when we need it.
Humility builds connections; humble people are more helpful, tolerant, sensitive and accepting of differences.
Humble leaders disperse their power. Yet this doesn’t weaken their authority. Their staff are more motivated and work harder. They know their leader is counting on them–and their input matters–so they rise to the occasion.
Wow, those are some amazing findings. How could all this be true for humility? Let’s look at some definitions to see if they support or contradict these findings.
Dictionaries define being humble as: not proud or arrogant; feeling insignificant, inferior, subservient; low rank, importance, and status; courteously respectful.
This definition is “all over the place.” Let’s dig in:
Arrogance certainly seems contrary to humility. What about pride? Is it antithetical to humility?
Feeling insignificant, inferior, subservient; low rank, importance, and status? Well, those qualities don’t seem to support the scientific findings in Merryman’s article.
Courteously respectful? This seems to support humility.
The dictionary definition seems to have elements that are contradictory. A better definition comes from Carlos Castaneda’s book Tales of Power. In it, don Juan describes his initial misunderstanding of humility and then a shift in how warriors understand it.
"A warrior takes his lot, whatever it may be, and accepts it in ultimate humbleness. He accepts in humbleness what he is, not as grounds for regret but as a living challenge. It takes time for every one of us to understand that point and fully live it. I, for instance, hated the mere mention of the word ‘humbleness’. I'm an Indian and we Indians have always been humble and have done nothing else but lower our heads. I thought humbleness was not in the warrior's way. I was wrong! I know now that the humbleness of a warrior is not the humbleness of a beggar. The warrior lowers his head to no one, but at the same time, he doesn't permit anyone to lower his head to him. The beggar, on the other hand, falls to his knees at the drop of a hat and scrapes the floor for anyone he deems to be higher; but at the same time, he demands that someone lower than him scrape the floor for him.” (Tales of Power, p19)
Accepting our lot in life requires humbleness. By humbling ourselves, we put ourselves on equal footing with others. We don’t lower our heads to others and don’t allow others to lower their heads to us. That allows us to see each other eye-to-eye, as equals. We each have talents that make us different and unequal. That allows us to serve life in our own unique way. From an internal perspective, though, we’re all equal. We’re all human beings, part of the mystery of life.
Humility doesn’t make us feel insignificant, inferior, subservient; of low rank, importance, and status. It makes us see each other as equals. Insignificance, importance, etc disappear when we view ourselves and others as equals. Humility, understood as being equals, gives us an accurate assessment of our strengths and weaknesses in the context of the larger world. That also helps us embrace ambiguity and the unknown, which allows us to admit failures and be willing to work with them. It builds connections because our egos aren’t running the show. We’re part of a larger team. Knowing that shifts responsibility to us to work hard to do our part. Humility is a moral virtue. If you want to be powerful, be humble.
Practice tip: Seeing Eye-to-Eye
Be a warrior, not a beggar, in your interactions with others this week. See each other eyes-to-eye. From an internal human perspective, you’re not more or less important than anyone else. So don’t grovel like a beggar or brag like a saint.
Rather, be humble. State your views firmly, with kindness. Listen to other’s views with full attention. See the interaction as equals. Doing that will help you work together to solve problems.
Coyle references a 2016 Washington Post article by Ashley Merryman titled Leaders are more powerful when they’re humble, new research shows. In it, she takes on the topic of humility directly, supporting it with scientific research. Here are some things she found:
True humility is when we have an accurate assessment of both our strengths and weaknesses, and see these in the context of the larger whole. We’re both grounded and liberated by this knowledge. We recognize our weaknesses, which motivate us to grow.
Humility helps us embrace ambiguity and the unknown. We even enjoy finding out when we’re wrong. We’re also more willing to accept help when we need it.
Humility builds connections; humble people are more helpful, tolerant, sensitive and accepting of differences.
Humble leaders disperse their power. Yet this doesn’t weaken their authority. Their staff are more motivated and work harder. They know their leader is counting on them–and their input matters–so they rise to the occasion.
Wow, those are some amazing findings. How could all this be true for humility? Let’s look at some definitions to see if they support or contradict these findings.
Dictionaries define being humble as: not proud or arrogant; feeling insignificant, inferior, subservient; low rank, importance, and status; courteously respectful.
This definition is “all over the place.” Let’s dig in:
Arrogance certainly seems contrary to humility. What about pride? Is it antithetical to humility?
Feeling insignificant, inferior, subservient; low rank, importance, and status? Well, those qualities don’t seem to support the scientific findings in Merryman’s article.
Courteously respectful? This seems to support humility.
The dictionary definition seems to have elements that are contradictory. A better definition comes from Carlos Castaneda’s book Tales of Power. In it, don Juan describes his initial misunderstanding of humility and then a shift in how warriors understand it.
"A warrior takes his lot, whatever it may be, and accepts it in ultimate humbleness. He accepts in humbleness what he is, not as grounds for regret but as a living challenge. It takes time for every one of us to understand that point and fully live it. I, for instance, hated the mere mention of the word ‘humbleness’. I'm an Indian and we Indians have always been humble and have done nothing else but lower our heads. I thought humbleness was not in the warrior's way. I was wrong! I know now that the humbleness of a warrior is not the humbleness of a beggar. The warrior lowers his head to no one, but at the same time, he doesn't permit anyone to lower his head to him. The beggar, on the other hand, falls to his knees at the drop of a hat and scrapes the floor for anyone he deems to be higher; but at the same time, he demands that someone lower than him scrape the floor for him.” (Tales of Power, p19)
Accepting our lot in life requires humbleness. By humbling ourselves, we put ourselves on equal footing with others. We don’t lower our heads to others and don’t allow others to lower their heads to us. That allows us to see each other eye-to-eye, as equals. We each have talents that make us different and unequal. That allows us to serve life in our own unique way. From an internal perspective, though, we’re all equal. We’re all human beings, part of the mystery of life.
Humility doesn’t make us feel insignificant, inferior, subservient; of low rank, importance, and status. It makes us see each other as equals. Insignificance, importance, etc disappear when we view ourselves and others as equals. Humility, understood as being equals, gives us an accurate assessment of our strengths and weaknesses in the context of the larger world. That also helps us embrace ambiguity and the unknown, which allows us to admit failures and be willing to work with them. It builds connections because our egos aren’t running the show. We’re part of a larger team. Knowing that shifts responsibility to us to work hard to do our part. Humility is a moral virtue. If you want to be powerful, be humble.
Practice tip: Seeing Eye-to-Eye
Be a warrior, not a beggar, in your interactions with others this week. See each other eyes-to-eye. From an internal human perspective, you’re not more or less important than anyone else. So don’t grovel like a beggar or brag like a saint.
Rather, be humble. State your views firmly, with kindness. Listen to other’s views with full attention. See the interaction as equals. Doing that will help you work together to solve problems.
August 17, 2021
Mental Suffering is Optional
In 2015, my friend Jeff Lodas and I went into the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming to climb on the East Face of Cloud Peak. The East Face is a 1000-foot wall of granite, crisscrossed with black and white dykes. We set a goal to establish a new route on the wall. We packed a week of supplies into 70-pound packs and started the 13 mile hike to the mountain. Needless to say, we began to suffer.
There’s a difference between physical and mental suffering. Physical suffering is a given. If we want to climb a big wall, then we’ll suffer physically on the approach, the climb, and the return. A lot of physical effort will be needed to accomplish the goal. However, mental suffering is optional. If the mind is focused on resisting the physical suffering, then we’ll suffer mentally.
Suffering increases as our attention shifts out of the present moment. The body is always in the present moment. To minimize physical suffering we focus our attention on the quality of how we engage the body. We do this by relaxing into the stress of the moment. We focus our attention on breathing, proper posture, relaxing as much as possible, and our senses. If our attention is focused in the body and what we perceive with our senses, then it won’t be focused in the mind, thinking about escaping the stress.
The thinking mind thinks in the present moment, but the thinking process itself focuses our attention on past experiences and future goals. This is necessary for effective information gathering, planning, and decision-making. However, once thinking is finished and we decide to take action, we need to position the mind as the observer. The mind observes the body while it’s engaged in stressful situations. We suffer mentally and lose mental power if we allow the mind to think during action. The mind does this in several ways.
First, instead of accepting stress as part of the experience, the mind will focus on wishing the situation was less stressful. The mind will wish the approach hike was a shorter distance instead of 13 miles, or that the trail was flat instead of hopping over glacial moraine boulders. If we allow the mind to focus our attention on wishing, then our power will diminish. Part of our power will be applied by the body to deal with the stress and part of our power will be distracted by the mind wishing the situation was less stressful.
Second, the mind has a tendency to focus on what we want to get from the situation instead of focusing on what we can give to it. Achieving any goal requires us to give effort. Achieving a goal occurs in the future. We lose power by allowing the mind to focus on the future achievement. If we focused on achieving the goal of establishing a new route on the East Face, then we wouldn’t be focused on determining where each pitch went, how to find the necessary protection placements, and doing the necessary climbing. To be powerful, we need our attention focused in the moment, on the effort itself.
Third, the mind tends to resist stress and be motivated toward comfort. It will shift our attention to a past or future time where we’ll be comfortable. Rappelling down after our third day on the wall, the rope got stuck on a directional sling we’d forgotten to unclip. We couldn’t retrieve our rope. Several attempts to solve the problem didn’t solve it. It was getting dark and our minds began thinking about why we’d made such a stupid mistake. We were beginning to get frustrated with each other. Our minds began to create mental suffering, thinking about the stupid mistake, getting frustrated and our desire to be back at our comfortable campsite. We needed to keep our attention focused on using our minds to think of possible solutions and then our bodies to act on them. It took an hour of focused attention to find a solution to retrieve our rope.
In each of these cases, we need to improve our awareness. We need to improve our ability to notice when the mind distracts our attention from the present moment. Instead of allowing the mind to wish the situation was less stressful, we accept stress as part of our choice. Instead of allowing the mind to focus on future achievement, we focus on the effort itself. Instead of allowing the mind to focus on a future comfortable situation, we focus on solving the stressful problem facing us in the present moment.
We reclaim our mental power each time we notice the mind shift our attention out of the present moment. If we need to think, then we focus on utilizing past experience to create possible solutions to problems. When we need to act on those possible solutions, we relax into the stress of the moment and process ourselves through it. We allow physical suffering to occur, even relishing it. Joy comes from feeling the body work and observing the mind think effectively to solve problems. We embrace physical suffering and allow the mind to observe the whole experience. Doing this makes us more aware that mental suffering is an option, an option we choose not to take.
Practice Tip: Little Steps
Mental suffering can occur because you allow the mind to focus on achieving your goal. The mind will think about all the stress that separates you from your goal. Instead, find little steps you can take toward your goal.
Identify a little step you can take that will allow you to take action now. Then, identify the next little step you can take. Doing this shifts your attention from the future goal to taking action in the present moment. You’ll achieve your goal before you realize it.
There’s a difference between physical and mental suffering. Physical suffering is a given. If we want to climb a big wall, then we’ll suffer physically on the approach, the climb, and the return. A lot of physical effort will be needed to accomplish the goal. However, mental suffering is optional. If the mind is focused on resisting the physical suffering, then we’ll suffer mentally.
Suffering increases as our attention shifts out of the present moment. The body is always in the present moment. To minimize physical suffering we focus our attention on the quality of how we engage the body. We do this by relaxing into the stress of the moment. We focus our attention on breathing, proper posture, relaxing as much as possible, and our senses. If our attention is focused in the body and what we perceive with our senses, then it won’t be focused in the mind, thinking about escaping the stress.
The thinking mind thinks in the present moment, but the thinking process itself focuses our attention on past experiences and future goals. This is necessary for effective information gathering, planning, and decision-making. However, once thinking is finished and we decide to take action, we need to position the mind as the observer. The mind observes the body while it’s engaged in stressful situations. We suffer mentally and lose mental power if we allow the mind to think during action. The mind does this in several ways.
First, instead of accepting stress as part of the experience, the mind will focus on wishing the situation was less stressful. The mind will wish the approach hike was a shorter distance instead of 13 miles, or that the trail was flat instead of hopping over glacial moraine boulders. If we allow the mind to focus our attention on wishing, then our power will diminish. Part of our power will be applied by the body to deal with the stress and part of our power will be distracted by the mind wishing the situation was less stressful.
Second, the mind has a tendency to focus on what we want to get from the situation instead of focusing on what we can give to it. Achieving any goal requires us to give effort. Achieving a goal occurs in the future. We lose power by allowing the mind to focus on the future achievement. If we focused on achieving the goal of establishing a new route on the East Face, then we wouldn’t be focused on determining where each pitch went, how to find the necessary protection placements, and doing the necessary climbing. To be powerful, we need our attention focused in the moment, on the effort itself.
Third, the mind tends to resist stress and be motivated toward comfort. It will shift our attention to a past or future time where we’ll be comfortable. Rappelling down after our third day on the wall, the rope got stuck on a directional sling we’d forgotten to unclip. We couldn’t retrieve our rope. Several attempts to solve the problem didn’t solve it. It was getting dark and our minds began thinking about why we’d made such a stupid mistake. We were beginning to get frustrated with each other. Our minds began to create mental suffering, thinking about the stupid mistake, getting frustrated and our desire to be back at our comfortable campsite. We needed to keep our attention focused on using our minds to think of possible solutions and then our bodies to act on them. It took an hour of focused attention to find a solution to retrieve our rope.
In each of these cases, we need to improve our awareness. We need to improve our ability to notice when the mind distracts our attention from the present moment. Instead of allowing the mind to wish the situation was less stressful, we accept stress as part of our choice. Instead of allowing the mind to focus on future achievement, we focus on the effort itself. Instead of allowing the mind to focus on a future comfortable situation, we focus on solving the stressful problem facing us in the present moment.
We reclaim our mental power each time we notice the mind shift our attention out of the present moment. If we need to think, then we focus on utilizing past experience to create possible solutions to problems. When we need to act on those possible solutions, we relax into the stress of the moment and process ourselves through it. We allow physical suffering to occur, even relishing it. Joy comes from feeling the body work and observing the mind think effectively to solve problems. We embrace physical suffering and allow the mind to observe the whole experience. Doing this makes us more aware that mental suffering is an option, an option we choose not to take.
Practice Tip: Little Steps
Mental suffering can occur because you allow the mind to focus on achieving your goal. The mind will think about all the stress that separates you from your goal. Instead, find little steps you can take toward your goal.
Identify a little step you can take that will allow you to take action now. Then, identify the next little step you can take. Doing this shifts your attention from the future goal to taking action in the present moment. You’ll achieve your goal before you realize it.
July 7, 2021
What’s the benefit of being present?
The Warrior’s Way values being present and focusing our attention in the moment. But what is the benefit of being present? Should we be present based on how important a task is? For example, is it more important to be present for tasks like achieving goals, than to be present for simple tasks like making coffee? A better question might be: what’s the benefit of not being present?
The benefit of not being present is comfort. The mind has an unconscious desire to seek comfort and being present requires us to deal with stress. Even focusing on simple tasks is stressful because it requires effort to keep our attention on task. Therefore, the benefit of not being present, isn’t really a benefit at all. We’re simply reacting to the mind’s motivation toward being comfortable. One of the main benefits, then, of being present is being aware when our attention isn’t focused in the moment. Disciplining the mind, so we’re aware when it seeks escape in habitual thinking, is an important part of mental training.
We need to also assess the word “important.” Are goals more important than being present for simple tasks? In order to determine a benefit we need to understand what we value. Understanding this requires us to look at our motivation. If we’re motivated toward goals, then that’s what we’ll value as more important; if we’re motivated towards being present, then being present is valued as more important.
There are benefits to achieving goals. We receive evidence that what we learned does produce results. Our learning is tested, and we passed the test. The benefit of being present is that the quality of our attention is heightened; the quality of our thinking, decision-making, and actions is heightened. With heightened quality we move more quickly toward our goals, making fewer mistakes. To summarize, the benefit of being present is the heightened quality of the learning process; the benefit of achieving goals is testing the effectiveness of our learning.
Therefore, one isn’t more important than the other. Rather, we need to find a way to include both and guide what we focus on based on what we can control. We can’t control the future; we can only control the present. Processes, not goals, occur in the present. Therefore, we need to focus on processes so we’re present for whatever task we’re doing. If we need to think about setting goals, then the task that is occurring in the present moment is thinking. We need to commit full attention to the task of thinking. If we need to take actions toward a goal, then the task that’s occurring in the present moment is engaging the body to take action. We need to commit full attention to the task of taking action.
But there’s something deeper going on here also. We feel most alive when our attention is in the moment. This is one reason we’re attracted to risk sports, such as climbing; they force our attention into the moment. We enjoy climbing because the stressors of everyday life fall away. Simple tasks can offer a similar benefit.
Life occurs in the present moment. If our attention is distracted by the mind’s habitual thinking, then we miss the present. Our conscious awareness is based on what we pay attention to. Developing awareness requires us to expand what we’re conscious of. When our attention is focused in the moment we’re connected with the activity we’re doing, with others, and even more connected to ourselves. When we make coffee, we can focus our attention on how the coffee smells and be grateful for having coffee in our lives.
If we focus our attention on the task, even simple ones, we improve the quality of our lives. We also discipline the mind, not letting it distract our attention toward seeking comfort. We realize that whatever task we’re doing, in the moment, is important. Therefore, we identify what we should focus on and redirect our attention when the mind distracts it. The benefit of being present is we take control of our attention and bring quality to our lives.
Practice Tip: Set intention on being present
You use your mind to think. Make sure your thinking is intentional, not habitual. Decide when to think. Then, when it’s not time to think, set an intention to focus your attention in two directions: inwardly on the activities of the mind and outwardly engaging your senses.
By having your attention focused inwardly you’ll notice the mind distracting your attention. Then, redirect your attention to your intent: notice the mind and engage your senses.
The benefit of not being present is comfort. The mind has an unconscious desire to seek comfort and being present requires us to deal with stress. Even focusing on simple tasks is stressful because it requires effort to keep our attention on task. Therefore, the benefit of not being present, isn’t really a benefit at all. We’re simply reacting to the mind’s motivation toward being comfortable. One of the main benefits, then, of being present is being aware when our attention isn’t focused in the moment. Disciplining the mind, so we’re aware when it seeks escape in habitual thinking, is an important part of mental training.
We need to also assess the word “important.” Are goals more important than being present for simple tasks? In order to determine a benefit we need to understand what we value. Understanding this requires us to look at our motivation. If we’re motivated toward goals, then that’s what we’ll value as more important; if we’re motivated towards being present, then being present is valued as more important.
There are benefits to achieving goals. We receive evidence that what we learned does produce results. Our learning is tested, and we passed the test. The benefit of being present is that the quality of our attention is heightened; the quality of our thinking, decision-making, and actions is heightened. With heightened quality we move more quickly toward our goals, making fewer mistakes. To summarize, the benefit of being present is the heightened quality of the learning process; the benefit of achieving goals is testing the effectiveness of our learning.
Therefore, one isn’t more important than the other. Rather, we need to find a way to include both and guide what we focus on based on what we can control. We can’t control the future; we can only control the present. Processes, not goals, occur in the present. Therefore, we need to focus on processes so we’re present for whatever task we’re doing. If we need to think about setting goals, then the task that is occurring in the present moment is thinking. We need to commit full attention to the task of thinking. If we need to take actions toward a goal, then the task that’s occurring in the present moment is engaging the body to take action. We need to commit full attention to the task of taking action.
But there’s something deeper going on here also. We feel most alive when our attention is in the moment. This is one reason we’re attracted to risk sports, such as climbing; they force our attention into the moment. We enjoy climbing because the stressors of everyday life fall away. Simple tasks can offer a similar benefit.
Life occurs in the present moment. If our attention is distracted by the mind’s habitual thinking, then we miss the present. Our conscious awareness is based on what we pay attention to. Developing awareness requires us to expand what we’re conscious of. When our attention is focused in the moment we’re connected with the activity we’re doing, with others, and even more connected to ourselves. When we make coffee, we can focus our attention on how the coffee smells and be grateful for having coffee in our lives.
If we focus our attention on the task, even simple ones, we improve the quality of our lives. We also discipline the mind, not letting it distract our attention toward seeking comfort. We realize that whatever task we’re doing, in the moment, is important. Therefore, we identify what we should focus on and redirect our attention when the mind distracts it. The benefit of being present is we take control of our attention and bring quality to our lives.
Practice Tip: Set intention on being present
You use your mind to think. Make sure your thinking is intentional, not habitual. Decide when to think. Then, when it’s not time to think, set an intention to focus your attention in two directions: inwardly on the activities of the mind and outwardly engaging your senses.
By having your attention focused inwardly you’ll notice the mind distracting your attention. Then, redirect your attention to your intent: notice the mind and engage your senses.
June 28, 2021
Mindset Applied to Our Health
Whatever the mind thinks affects the body. My friend Winston Cunningham encourages others to pay close attention to their mindset. This short audio addresses how mindset impacts a common cold. Yet, if we learn to apply it here, we can apply it to anything.
Control of the Common Cold Through Attitude Adjustments
Here’s an excerpt: Pay attention to your thoughts so you can catch yourself in the act of being compulsive and choose to be decisive, leaving doubts behind as you proceed toward your goals. Your brain will receive your positive direction and will direct the rest of the body to follow your clear directions, including the immune system, which will do its job in the manner that you are doing yours! Undirected energy causes chaos, or dis-ease. Thoughts are energy and once set into motion, will be expressed with or without your awareness or co-operation.
This 15 minute presentation gives the steps for correcting or preventing a cold. You will gain understanding and efficiency with the practice of using this procedure. The proof will come through your experience of following the steps outlined here.
Play a sample of the audio
Purchase for $3.30 from Google Play
Control of the Common Cold Through Attitude Adjustments
Here’s an excerpt: Pay attention to your thoughts so you can catch yourself in the act of being compulsive and choose to be decisive, leaving doubts behind as you proceed toward your goals. Your brain will receive your positive direction and will direct the rest of the body to follow your clear directions, including the immune system, which will do its job in the manner that you are doing yours! Undirected energy causes chaos, or dis-ease. Thoughts are energy and once set into motion, will be expressed with or without your awareness or co-operation.
This 15 minute presentation gives the steps for correcting or preventing a cold. You will gain understanding and efficiency with the practice of using this procedure. The proof will come through your experience of following the steps outlined here.
Play a sample of the audio
Purchase for $3.30 from Google Play
June 21, 2021
Mental Training Is More Important Than Physical Training
In 1976 I attended college at University of Colorado in Boulder. One of my first climbing experiences was in Boulder Canyon on a rock formation called The Dome. My partner and I were at the base of a climb called Cozyhang, waiting for a team to finish the first pitch. The lead climber looked strong. He didn’t have a shirt on, which showed his strong physical body. It looked like he did weight training, having bulging muscles.
He was positioned at a stance below a small roof, about 40 feet above the ground. He was at the stance for more than 15 minutes, occasionally making a move, but then retreating to his stance. He seemed to have a struggle occurring in his mind. Part of his attention was focused on engaging the stress—climbing over the roof—and part of his attention was focused on retreating to comfort—going down. It would seem that climbing over the roof would be easy for him, given his physical strength. Cozyhang was only 5.7 in difficulty. Yet, because of his attention being split between opposing goals, he couldn’t apply his physical strength to engaging the roof. That was my first introduction to mental training.
Mental and physical training are both important. But mental training is more important, because if we haven’t developed the mental power of focusing our attention in stressful situations, then we can’t apply our physical training.
Mental training is also more important than physical training because all training is essentially mental training. Physical training trains muscles, but more importantly it trains and develops neural networks in the brain. In other words, we don’t create “muscle memory” when we do physical training; we create neural networks that fire signals to the muscles in specific, more effective ways. It’s important to create these neural networks in a quality manner. Therefore, how we do our physical training is critical. “How” points toward the importance of doing the training with quality. The main way we enhance quality is with attention. We need to pay attention during the training process.
For this reason, it’s important to eliminate distractions of attention during all training. Most climbers don’t train this way. They do whatever they can to distract themselves from the stress experienced during training. This also occurs in training that non-climbers do. Go into any workout facility and you’ll see rows of people on treadmills, doing physical training, while watching TV or listening to music. They’re engaging the body, but their attention is not in the body noticing the quality (or lack of quality) of their engagement; it’s distracted into the TV show or the music they’re listening to. Therefore, they aren’t aware of the subtleties of their posture, breathing, body proprioception, and relaxation. Without attention, the quality of our posture, breathing, sense of our body in space (proprioception), and relaxing the body so we use the muscles with just the amount of energy needed, are all compromised to some degree. We need to pay attention to improve quality.
Two important components of brain development are: slow and stress. The brain develops slowly, over time, as we continually stimulate it during training. And, that stimulation is essentially stress. Developing neural networks requires stress. They don’t develop when we’re in our comfort zones. The mind, however, is motivated in direct opposition to brain development. The mind likes making fast progress and dis-likes stress. The mind likes the comfort of watching a TV show or listening to music to ignore stress. Since how the brain develops is what will influence how well we do skills, and climb, we need to shift the mind’s motivation to how the brain develops. We need to shift the mind’s motivation toward engaging in a slow, stressful, learning process.
When we pay attention to our physical training, something is also happening with our mental training, beyond creating effective neural networks. By being present, with our attention, to the stress associated with physical training, we improve our ability to deal with stress. I’ve found this to be the most important mental skill to develop. Think about it, harder climbing essentially requires us to deal with higher levels of stress. Yet, we tend to sabotage the development of this skill when we do our physical training.
It’s important to remember the goal of training. The goal shouldn’t be to climb harder grades; it should be to become better climbers. Improved ability to deal with stress makes us better climbers. If we focus on becoming better climbers, then climbing harder grades will automatically occur. With this improved ability we can face a challenge, like a roof, with a diminished battle occurring in the mind. We’ll be able to focus our attention better to deal with stress. Then, from that higher degree of mental fitness, we can apply our bodies, our muscles, manifesting the physical training we’ve been doing.
Practice Tip: Hunt for Power
Being mentally powerful means you’ve developed your ability to deal with stress. This is the most important mental skill to develop. Therefore, hunt for situations that are stressful so you can develop this ability. One way of doing this is to climb slowly.
Do this on toprope where you won’t be distracted by falling. Begin on a route of moderate difficulty, and climb slowly. Increment to harder routes. Pay attention to the climbing itself by focusing on your body posture, breathing, and maintaining eye contact on holds. When you feel tired, find rest stances to regain energy. Then, continue to climb slowly. Doing this keeps your attention focused during stress for longer periods of time, develops your ability to deal with stress, and makes you a better climber.
He was positioned at a stance below a small roof, about 40 feet above the ground. He was at the stance for more than 15 minutes, occasionally making a move, but then retreating to his stance. He seemed to have a struggle occurring in his mind. Part of his attention was focused on engaging the stress—climbing over the roof—and part of his attention was focused on retreating to comfort—going down. It would seem that climbing over the roof would be easy for him, given his physical strength. Cozyhang was only 5.7 in difficulty. Yet, because of his attention being split between opposing goals, he couldn’t apply his physical strength to engaging the roof. That was my first introduction to mental training.
Mental and physical training are both important. But mental training is more important, because if we haven’t developed the mental power of focusing our attention in stressful situations, then we can’t apply our physical training.
Mental training is also more important than physical training because all training is essentially mental training. Physical training trains muscles, but more importantly it trains and develops neural networks in the brain. In other words, we don’t create “muscle memory” when we do physical training; we create neural networks that fire signals to the muscles in specific, more effective ways. It’s important to create these neural networks in a quality manner. Therefore, how we do our physical training is critical. “How” points toward the importance of doing the training with quality. The main way we enhance quality is with attention. We need to pay attention during the training process.
For this reason, it’s important to eliminate distractions of attention during all training. Most climbers don’t train this way. They do whatever they can to distract themselves from the stress experienced during training. This also occurs in training that non-climbers do. Go into any workout facility and you’ll see rows of people on treadmills, doing physical training, while watching TV or listening to music. They’re engaging the body, but their attention is not in the body noticing the quality (or lack of quality) of their engagement; it’s distracted into the TV show or the music they’re listening to. Therefore, they aren’t aware of the subtleties of their posture, breathing, body proprioception, and relaxation. Without attention, the quality of our posture, breathing, sense of our body in space (proprioception), and relaxing the body so we use the muscles with just the amount of energy needed, are all compromised to some degree. We need to pay attention to improve quality.
Two important components of brain development are: slow and stress. The brain develops slowly, over time, as we continually stimulate it during training. And, that stimulation is essentially stress. Developing neural networks requires stress. They don’t develop when we’re in our comfort zones. The mind, however, is motivated in direct opposition to brain development. The mind likes making fast progress and dis-likes stress. The mind likes the comfort of watching a TV show or listening to music to ignore stress. Since how the brain develops is what will influence how well we do skills, and climb, we need to shift the mind’s motivation to how the brain develops. We need to shift the mind’s motivation toward engaging in a slow, stressful, learning process.
When we pay attention to our physical training, something is also happening with our mental training, beyond creating effective neural networks. By being present, with our attention, to the stress associated with physical training, we improve our ability to deal with stress. I’ve found this to be the most important mental skill to develop. Think about it, harder climbing essentially requires us to deal with higher levels of stress. Yet, we tend to sabotage the development of this skill when we do our physical training.
It’s important to remember the goal of training. The goal shouldn’t be to climb harder grades; it should be to become better climbers. Improved ability to deal with stress makes us better climbers. If we focus on becoming better climbers, then climbing harder grades will automatically occur. With this improved ability we can face a challenge, like a roof, with a diminished battle occurring in the mind. We’ll be able to focus our attention better to deal with stress. Then, from that higher degree of mental fitness, we can apply our bodies, our muscles, manifesting the physical training we’ve been doing.
Practice Tip: Hunt for Power
Being mentally powerful means you’ve developed your ability to deal with stress. This is the most important mental skill to develop. Therefore, hunt for situations that are stressful so you can develop this ability. One way of doing this is to climb slowly.
Do this on toprope where you won’t be distracted by falling. Begin on a route of moderate difficulty, and climb slowly. Increment to harder routes. Pay attention to the climbing itself by focusing on your body posture, breathing, and maintaining eye contact on holds. When you feel tired, find rest stances to regain energy. Then, continue to climb slowly. Doing this keeps your attention focused during stress for longer periods of time, develops your ability to deal with stress, and makes you a better climber.
