The Warrior

The Warrior

The Warrior often is thought of as masculine energy, most especially in time like these when we are at war. Yet, “The Warrior” is an archetype, when used rightly, is what mightily needed within us and therefore in the world today.

The Warrior demands a deep level of commitment to integrity, strength, and courage. First and foremost to the awakening self, which begins the journey to understanding the concept of the many within the One.

Many women, like myself, are in female bodies but express more of the masculine energies in the world. We learned early on to make it the man’s marketplace we had to use and develop the masculine energies. These are the active, creative, and goal oriented energies. At times these energies can become out of balance and we live out the shadow side of the masculine. This expresses as ruthless, wrong use of power, and even killing “the other” which are all the wrong use of warrior energies.

Each person has both the Divine male and female attributes. The Old Testament used by Christians, Jews, and Muslims characterize the first creation as a combination of male and female. The Taoist speak of Yin and Yang which is the perfect balance of both energies. It is imperative to strive for the balance of both these energies. The Divine masculine and the Divine feminine is understood and used rightly through the actions of the high-level Warrior archetype.

Engaging the Warrior archetype reminds us that human courage and struggle can overcome the negativity within us and therefore in the world. The Warrior has always stood up to the dragons, demons, and the oppressive forces in the world which rescued not only themselves but those who were weaker and unable to defend themselves.

Do not confuse “macho” with the Warrior. Macho often describes someone who feels superior and needs to keep another down. A high-level Warrior understands the importance and the hard work of treating others as they expect to be treated, with respect and dignity.

The great Warrior myth is that we must war to win. Like all archetypes and the energies within us the Warriors choice is between good and evil, us and them, my way or the “others” way . Darth Vader of the STAR WARS series was a Warrior who lived out of his egocentric dark side. This misplaced Warrior energy shows up in oppressive bosses, husband and wives, parents and children just as in imperialism in any form.

The greatest Warriors, male or female, have had enough courage, conviction, commitment and discipline to understand that war is the last option. In fact the high-level warrior lives responsibly (the ability to respond) rather than through reactivity.

Women like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton were great models of high-level Warriors. They opposed giving legal protection and voting rights to African American men through the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments of the Constitution while denying these same rights to women. Even though it caused a split in the suffrage movement, they stood to their convictions.

Men like Dr. Martin Luther King and Ghandi model the Warrior through peace and non-violence. “I am not a visionary, I claim to be a practical idealist. The religions of nonviolence is not meant merely for the rishis and saints. It is meant for the common people as well. Nonviolence is the law of our species as violence is the law of the brute. The spirit lies dormant in the brute and he knows no law but that of physical might. The dignity of man requires obedience to a higher law...” M.K. Ghandi

Many of us feel the “fierce urgency of the now” in our times. We often begin our journey to find the high-level Warrior feeling anything but powerful imprisoned within the boundaries other have created around us. It is one of the great challenges of the Warrior to feel imprisoned, mistreated, or abused and not then become the warden or the abuser ourselves.

Some of the most high-level Warriors might not even be known to us because there is only the battle of wisdom and wit. It is not that they fear conflict, but Warriors recognize the importance of win-win, there is no loss of face, all voices are heard and the greater social purpose is served.

The prayer of St. Francis gives expression to the depths of a Spiritual Warrior. It take great discipline, commitment, and strength to live this prayer every day. Imagine a world in which these words were the fabric of every day life and every decision was cut from the cloth of these words: “Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace ; where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith ; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness joy. For it is in giving that we receive, in pardoning that we are pardoned...” The Prayer of St. Francis. The true warrior heart!