In my time, battle wasn’t lethal—it was sport. It was relaxing. We trained our hearts out, day and night, and stepped into the ring with nothing more than 8-ounce gloves and the will to test ourselves. We threw shins, knees, elbows, and fists just like boxers do. And while it may sound brutal, I didn’t experience it that way. I was lucky. I didn’t get hurt. I punched people in the face, and I enjoyed it.
I also took risks that put my life in my own hands. I jumped out of airplanes—something that was considered recreational in my day. You’d pay to wear a backpack with two parachutes, jump at altitude, and hope you pulled the cord at the right time. It was exhilarating. It was pointless. But looking back, it was fun.
Back then, I thought like a soldier. I saw myself as a warrior. And it took decades to understand that the true warrior code was never about violence. It was hidden beneath generations of ignorance, anxiety, and misinterpretation. For thousands of years, human cultures equated courage with killing, glorified war, and honored the man who was “brave enough” to die in battle.
What ignorance. What conditioning. What suffering.
The true warrior code—the one I now offer to you—is about peace. It's not new. Throughout history, there have always been small, rare groups of people who followed this code implicitly. It is encoded into the very fabric of existence, and it lives in our DNA. When we live against it, it’s not because of free will—it’s because we are still trapped in unconscious patterns that shape the undercurrents of our being.
The First Law of the Future Warrior: Lead Others to Peace
To be a true warrior, you must lead frightened people—not into battle—but into calm. That includes men, women, and children alike. To lead others to peace, you must first find it within yourself. And to find peace, you must train your mind to relax. You must learn how to down-regulate from the fight-or-flight state that so many of us live in constantly.
Yes, the sympathetic nervous system has a purpose. It reacts to immediate danger. But outside of emergencies, it becomes the prison of the modern mind—constantly analyzing, reacting, fearing, and bracing for conflict.
The parasympathetic system—the calm, clear, present-moment mind—is the seat of rational thought. It allows us to plan, to learn, to love, and to understand. That’s the mind we must cultivate if we want peace—not just for ourselves, but for the world.
This Path Is Not About Ego
Let me warn you: adopting this mindset isn’t about playing the savior. It's not about building a Messiah complex to soothe old wounds or inflate a fragile ego. You gain nothing from this path—except freedom from your own mental bondage.
Compassion is not weakness. Nonviolence is not passivity. It is the most disciplined form of strength we can develop.
That doesn't mean you can't kill a mosquito if it's spreading disease. But you must learn to be clever and compassionate—even in conflict. Find ways to set traps, redirect energy, and protect what matters without resorting to unnecessary harm.
We will all take life, often without realizing it. When we walk, we step on microbes and bugs. When we breathe, we kill airborne pathogens. It’s part of nature. The only way to repay this debt is to give ourselves back when it’s time. When we die, nature takes us home—and in that return, we are redeemed.
The Second Law: Train the Body and the Breath
The warrior must train—not just for strength, but for integration. You must turn movement into art. Your practice should combine physical training with breath, awareness, and focus. Movement alone is not enough. You must be present in the movement. That is the forge of discipline. That is where the mind grows.
Most of us fall into loops of anxiety, addiction, or self-destruction. We harm ourselves, each other, and the planet. And we forget the suffering we cause to other creatures. So here’s a difficult truth:
The Third Law: Refrain from Harming Animals
If we wish to live in alignment with the warrior code, we must reconsider the consumption of animal flesh. Not because of diet trends or superiority—but out of reverence for life.
Yes, animal protein has nutrients. Yes, humans can survive on it. But the question isn’t can we—it’s should we? It’s possible to thrive on a plant-based diet. If we do eat animals, let us do so with awareness, humility, and balance. The least we can do is surround every portion of animal protein with large amounts of living, leafy greens, which ease digestion and bring harmony to the meal.
But this is not a diet book. This is a call to awaken the true warrior mindset—one rooted in peace, compassion, and discipline.
The Fourth Law: Build Peace, Not Glory
The purpose of the warrior is not to protect flags, borders, honor, or pride. Those are inventions of insecure minds. The true warrior defends only when there is no alternative. The rest of the time, they resolve conflict through understanding and restoration. Compensation, not vengeance. Dialogue, not destruction.
We already have systems in place—governments, courts, laws. But when those systems become corrupted, the true warrior must not be recruited into their ranks. The warrior's allegiance is not to power, but to peace.
The Final Law: Prepare for Death Like a Marathoner Prepares for the Finish Line
Death is not defeat. It’s the completion of life’s great race. When you arrive at the end—tired, worn, breathless—you deserve a rest. You don't need to know what comes next to accept it. Just as a fetus in the womb cannot imagine adulthood, we cannot imagine what lies beyond. But we can trust that we are part of something far larger than ourselves.
The divine? We’ll never fully grasp it in this life. But perhaps we can recognize what it’s not. It's not limited to human traits or stories. If it created every organism, it must contain every quality—gentleness and ferocity, simplicity and brilliance, peace and evolution.
So instead of chasing divine answers, focus on what you can control: your breath. Your presence. Your actions. Your impact.
You Are the Future Warrior
You don’t need weapons. You need awareness.
You don’t need glory. You need discipline.
You don’t need followers. You need peace in your own heart.
Train the body. Train the mind. Regulate your nervous system. Eat with intention. Speak with clarity. Act with compassion. The rest will follow.
And when the time comes, leave the Earth a little more peaceful than you found it.