Warrior Discipline Schedule
Every man is unique and the requirements of his activities of daily living also differ substantially, so there is no single rule to follow, unless, of course, you do actually live in a monastery or a Himalayan cave.
In general, your daily discipline should be built around activities that help you attain:
- Inner peace and mental stillness
- Self-awareness
- Regular spiritual growth
- Letting go of useless habits
- Emotional equinamity
-
Physical well-being
Naturally, such a radical change in your lifestyle could leave you bored to death, restless, and your life might look brittle and barren.
Even the greatest saints have experienced spiritual aridness, a ‘dark night of the soul.’[1]
It is at times like that that you need to focus on self-reflection, meditation, breathing, and physical practices (yoga (योग), stretching, etc.). These moments must also be faithfully noted in your journal.
While every man’s daily schedule will be different but at the end of this article, you will find an example of mine that I created for my September 30-day retreat:
A word about diet
Almost every warrior or monastic diet is vegetarian, meat or fish being consumed only rarely, or even vegan.
I am not an advocate of any program that recommends extremely high protein or saturated fats to the exclusion of vegetables, grains, and carbohydrates. Nor do I feel that a vegan diet is sustainable.
Men are omnivores; they are not obligate carnivores, so any meat-only diet is unhealthy.
While I advocate a mainly vegetarian fare supplemented once or twice a week with a modest amount of animal protein (lean red meat, chicken, or fish), a strict vegan or carnivore diet should probably be avoided.
When in doubt, get a referral from your primary care provider for a consultation with a nutritionist — not a physician —, since physicians do not receive adequate training in nutrition.
A nutritionist or dietician is specially trained to ensure that whatever your lifestyle, you obtain the nutrients you need to be and to remain healthy.
The retreat routine is not meant to be a lifestyle, unless, of course, you can afford to become a hermit or a monk.
You may even want to do it regularly montly for a couple of days. Some men may want to take a week or two and simply go to a beach or a mountain cabin and practice the retreat discipline. There are many, many options and variations that you will learn.
It may not look very exciting or thrilling but it becomes very satisfying over the retreat period because it’s combined with healthy foods, fasting (1 day a week), regular rest, and exercise.
The restrictions imposed by the recent pandemic has created many new opportunities for practicing Warrior Discipline in many variations, and anyone who used the excuse of not having any time, will find that doesn’t work any more.
Common Obstacles
1. Mental and physical cravings
Most men will experience mental and physical restlessness when practicing Warrior Discipline for the first time.
You have eliminated most of the flurry of mental and physical stimulation, and are concentrating only on the worthwhile activity.
You need to give your mind and body permission and time to relax and find equilibrium in this new status.
You will find you can live very well without the frenetic insane activity, and your mind will find peace in silence and stillness.
In your self-reflection and meditation, you will learn that you are not your thoughts, emotions, cravings,etc., and that they are all outside of you.
You will ride the waves as they come in, and settle peacefully on the shore when they subside.
2. Monkey Mind
I call the untamed, untrained, frenzied mind “monkey mind” because it is constantly jumping from one thing to another. Once you learn to ignore monkey-mind, he will calm down.
Monkey mind may rebell by rehashing past events, creating fantasies, planning future activities, or second-guessing other persons’ intentions. It’s all monkey-mind; let it go.
3. Meaninglessness & Purposelessness
Most of the everyday distractions and addictions world are “temporary state boosters,” quick but empty fixes.
Monkey-mind and ego are always working overtime to make a man think his life is meaningless, purposeless, shitty.
It’s that misperception and alienation that leads to social media, porn, and substance addictions.
But social media, porn, and drugs don’t prepare you for reality; in fact, they make reality even more difficult to deal with.
Warrior Discipline exposes the true nature of your life without these “state boosters.” With a calmer mind and healthier overall physical condition, you will be better able to cope with any down moments.
4. Addiction?
By definition, addiction is seeking repeated exposure to an activity or a substance, while denying or avoiding acknowledging the substantial harm it causes, and its self-destructive effects, because that experience was and continues to be perceived as pleasurable and/or rewarding.
Warrior Discipline will expose addictions or bad habits for what they are but does not claim to treat or cure addiction; nevertheless, it does provide a way to distance yourself from the addictive activity or substance.
The Benefits of Warrior Discipline
The benefits of Warrior Discipline include:[2]
- Mental clarity
- Enhanced discernment
- Better focus
- Greater self-confidence
- Less susceptibility to addiction
- Greater compassion
- Improved self-awareness
- Enhanced social skills
- Sensitivity, empathy, interpathy
Conclusion + Wrapping Up
Every man is full of perfect flaws, and his life is overpopulated with obligations, stereotypes, obsessions and compulsions, and mental clutter, and a wild monkey-mind.
Warrior Discipline will bring peace and relaxation, while providing the space in which to separate illusion from reality. Warrior Discipline is a practice for creating inner stillness, enhance discernment skills, and become self-aware.
The Warrior Discipline routine (see the Appendix) can be practiced for 1 month, 81 or 180 days, or for a lifetime.
Warrior discipline is not about production, results, competition, challenges, or any of the products of toxic cultural conditioning or stereotypical masculinity.
Warrior Discipline is about exposing and healing the flaws in a man’s lifestyle and paving the way to transformation and more blissful being.
APPENDIX
| Example of a Warrior Discipline Retreat Daily Routine (30-day Retreat) |
|
|---|---|
| 05:00 | Leap out of bed and start the day (S3) |
| 05:15 – 05:30 | Meditation |
| 5:30 – 05:45 | Stretching |
| 5:45 – 06:00 | Mindful breakfast (fasting breakfast)[3] |
| 6:00 – 08:00 | Study |
| 08:00 – 9:30 | Writing |
| 09:30 – 10:00 | Outdoors activity |
| 10:15 – 11:00 | Check email, messages, etc. |
| 11:15 – 11:45 | Reading |
| 11:45 – 12:00 | Mindful preparation of miday meal |
| 12:00 – 12:30 | Miday mindful meal (fasting meal) |
| 13:00 – 14:00 | Māntra (मन्त्र), mudrā (मुद्र), Sanskrit practice |
| 14:00 – 15:00 | Reading |
| 15:00 – 16:00 | Writing/Study/Handicrafts |
| 16:00 – 17:00 | Skill development (elective) |
| 17:00 – 17:30 | Mindful preparation of evening meal |
| 17:30–18:00 | Evening mindful meal (normal type meal) |
| 18:00 – 19:00 | Return calls, answer email, check messages, Internet research |
| 19:00 – 20:00 | Relaxation (film, music, etc.). Avoid intellectual or stimulating activity. |
| 20:00 – 21:30 | Journalling |
| 21:45 – 22:00 | Self – reflection/Meditation |
| 22:00 | Bedtime |
