Characteristics of a Spiritual Warrior

Happiness is every persons choice, but few make an effort for it.
The Spiritual Warrior is a person who challenges the dreams of fear, lies, false beliefs,
and judgments that create suffering and unhappiness in his or her life. It is a war that
takes place in the heart and mind of a man or woman. The quest of the Spiritual
Warrior is the same as spiritual seekers around the world. The Spiritual Warrior faces
this challenge with the clarity and awareness that this war is fought within himself and
that Truth and unconditional love are on the other side of these battles. This is what
the Toltecs refer to as Personal Freedom. You can find this referenced in the book The
Four Agreements by don Miguel Ruiz.
Characteristics and Traits

To win the war against fear requires awareness, courage, discipline, and commitment
to transform the emotional body. These are some of the characteristics of a Warrior
Awareness of the Spiritual Warrior

The first and most vital tool of the spiritual warrior is awareness. It is easy to we think
we are aware, but pure awareness has no thinking involved. It has no thinking because
it has no interpretation. Awareness is to perceive with clarity the truth of what is
happening without interpretation or opinion. In a moment of awareness the dialogue
in the mind stops. We are seeing from a point or view separate from the reasoning
part of our mind. This could be described as an epiphany. Practiced seers live in this
awareness in every moment.
Awareness is essential because it is the state of consciousness that allows us to discern
between the facts and the Truth, and between the story and the lies in our mind. The
realm of our mind is filled with false perceptions and false beliefs. While the mind
can be very clever with stories and lies, it is the consciousness of awareness that is the
discerning intelligence. We may use very intelligent reasoning to make a decision that
is not good for ourselves. Only to look at it in hindsight and realize that we discounted
indicators that told us otherwise. This can be done in something as simple as a stock
investment. The mind is clever, but it is also full of assumptions and limited
paradigms of perception. Conscious awareness allows us to see clearly instead of be
blinded by these false belief paradigms.
Self awareness is the clarity to know who and what you are, and not get caught up in
self important images of ourselves. These self important images in our mind distort
our sense of who we are. False images can lead us to low self esteem and self
confidence, or they can take us into being self centered. If you have an idea of who
you are, then consider that you are not that idea in your mind. You are the one creating
the idea, and observing it. Self awareness that you are not any of those images in your
mind is essential to becoming free of self importance.

Courage of the Spiritual Warrior

The courage that makes for a good soldier also makes for a good Spiritual Warrior,
but the intent becomes completely different. A soldier has courage to face a challenge
that may bring physical harm. The Spiritual warrior has the courage to question
challenge his or her own beliefs. By challenging our own beliefs we can dissolve the
lies that cause our suffering. To challenge our own beliefs requires courage because it
means the end of our illusion of safety. When other people challenge our own beliefs
we are usually quick to defend. We defend them even if they cause us to suffer. As a
warrior we learn not to defend what we believe, and then to challenge those very
beliefs ourselves. In this way we are able to sort out the truth from illusions.
Discipline of the Spiritual Warrior

A soldier has discipline to follow orders and continues on when faced with challenges.
The Spiritual Warriors discipline to continue on with their path when faced with
challenges from their mind. It is easier to follow orders as a soldier, because we are
threatened with consequences and rewarded to motivate us. This is in line with our
years of conditioning. A warrior must have the discipline to practice deal with their
own mind without someone else providing the motivation with carrots or sticks. A
warrior must exercise their own will at the command of their heart, not an outside
authority figure. This often means going against the fearful opinions in our mind that
tempt us with illusions of punishment and rewards. We must also have the discipline
to follow our own heart even when tempted by another persons opinion. This way of
living requires disciplined practice.
The Love of the Spiritual Warrior

A soldier has a commitment to love his/her country. The Spiritual warrior must have
the commitment to love him/her self. The warrior then extends that love to humanity.
The commitment is required because in our journey we will certainly fumble and fall
many times. It is in having a strong commitment that we get back up again. It is
common to fall to judgment. It can be easy to love some people, particularly the
people that like us or treat us well. However, it requires a tremendous commitment to
love in the face of those that reject us. This commitment will cause us to challenge our
beliefs about our judgments and not being compassionate. We must be committed to
love beyond our own self-serving interests of what it will bring us. This is how we
will become happy beyond our current paradigm of beliefs. In time we become
committed to love for the sheer enjoyment of expressing love. This becomes our
commitment. We nourish ourselves with the love we express. A warrior acts in this
committed way, even when challenged.
In my point of view, Jesus Christ was the greatest Warrior. He had the courage,
discipline, and openness to Love unconditionally even as he was being rejected and
physically persecuted during his days. Even when his body was in physical pain, the
only emotions he created and expressed were of love and compassion. He did not use

a reason in his mind to hate or judge. This is extraordinary impeccability. If he could

love in his challenges, then we can learn to love unconditionally in our challenges.