The Physical Path To A Robust Mind

For the audio version for this blog, please click on the link below: 

https://www.buzzsprout.com/975859/episodes/8427602#

Personal development courses based on chasing your dreams and living an abundant life are common and yet real courage and a robust mind remain rare.

Everyone is after Courage and character because we want to attain something within us that is incorruptible, something that cannot be taken away from us.

This leads us chasing achievements and reputations, hoping in some random way, they will result in a robust mind.

The cultivating of a robust mind of courage is a worthy goal, because everything else in life is unreliable.

A physical testing ground has always been a potent way to uncover courage and character. I would go as far to say that without some form of physical training, any results will be temporary.

Our highly successful course ‘On The Warriors Path’ is a combination of ancient warrior philosophy, nutrition and physical training. Yet it’s the physical side that draws all of the self sabotaging thoughts, beliefs and behaviours from an attendee out into the open.

A physical testing ground can be perhaps the most powerful way to become a shadow hunter.

The shadow is a term used by Carl Jung and refers to all of the unprocessed emotional conditioning we all carry around with us.

These shadows are eventually expertly covered with excuses and justifications of why someone acts the way they do and what they can and can’t do.

The shadows take our dreams and aspirations and destroy them amid a well rehearsed self belittling and self bullying narrative.

We are our own worst enemy and the worst bully we will ever have.

We would never tolerate the kind of narrative we feed ourselves from a friend, yet we often never question the internal destructive dialogue we feed ourselves.

It takes courage to look at this within ourselves. Most people will not look at the often ugly reality of what has been created within themselves and they often go to extreme measures to deny it.

Yet this are the shadows themselves protecting their identity.

It obscures courage, integrity and a greater meaning to our life.

With the right choice of physical training, the shadow will be brought to the forefront of our awareness.

It’s voice will arise under stress.

“I can’t do this.”

“I shouldn’t be here.”

“I’m not the sort of person that can do this.”

“I told you you would fail.”

These are just some of the inner remarks of the shadow when things get tough.

Once we start observing this, we start to see the shadow as separate from us.

This is good.

The separation is the beginning of its demise.

An unobserved shadow is dangerous. People will harm and even kill each other due to this lack of awareness.

A robust mind is one that has hunted its own shadows.

Every single self doubt, fear and self sabotaging habit will rise in the correct physical testing ground.

Martial arts is best. It is steeped in Bushido, a most robust and courageous philosophy that fits well in our modern world.

Martial arts delve deeply into fear and discipline, that can carry over into anything else someone decides to pursue.

However, running long distances can also be beneficial as can gymnastics, dance and many other physical pursuits.

They must be pursued seriously enough though to bring about the voice of the shadow.

It must bring us face to face with our fears.

It’s an often uncomfortable process.

But it has to be.

Real personal transformation doesn’t happen in comfort and security but through suffering and this can be a self imposed controlled suffering to bring about profound change.

The words of Alexis Carrell ring true when he wrote:

“Man cannot remake himself without suffering, for he is both the marble and the sculptor.”

Physical training can be an extremely powerful way to recreate oneself and vanquish the shadows as part of the process.

Masterpieces are created here.

Masterpieces that are reliable, when all else is recognised as uncertain and beyond our control.