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http://www.siimland.com.
How great of a person you think you are? Are you living to your fullest
potential? At which stage of your personal development are you
currently at? Would you like to increase your physical performance,
enhance your mental powers and increase your energy?
Answers to all of those questions and many more can be found within
the pages of this book. It’s going to be your guide on becoming the
greatest version of yourself and achieving your truest potential as a
human being. On top of that, you can transform yourself into a high
performing individual in everything you do.
My name is Siim Land, the author of this short book, including many
other things. Over the course of many years, I’ve undergone a thorough
journey towards improving and optimizing every aspect of my being.
This Odyssey of body, mind and spirit has lead me into several rabbit
holes, made go through hell and back again, find my calling and live it
our completely. At the moment I’m in a stage of my journey where I’ve
decided to share the knowledge I’ve learned with likeminded
individuals.
Do you want to become as great as you can be? To optimize your body
and mind so that you could live a more meaningful and fulfilling life?
Chances are, you do. That’s where the Body Mind Agoge can help you.
In this book I’m going to share with you the strategies on how to start
empowering yourself as a human being. What it is and what it entails
we’ll get to in a moment. But first, I wanted to give you a short overview
of what to expect.
It’s like a riddle. That which happens in the macrocosm will do so in the
microcosm as well. The universe itself is a reflection of this connection
between macro and micro levels. Just look around you. Earth itself is
like a living breathing organism Our body is like a planet with millions
of cells. Everything comprises of atoms…and so on and on, ad infinitum.
The distinguishing factor between one and another, us versus them, this
and that, is just a mere illusion. Instead of duality, there is unity in
everything.
This same notion is found in almost every other spiritual teaching. For
us, there is the body, mind and spirit, all on their respectful planes of
existence. The first two are definitely connected with each other.
According to René Decartes´ dualism, the mind and body are non-
identical of which the former seats the throne of our intelligence. This
debate is far beyond the scope nor the purpose of this book but we ought
to pause at it for a moment. This approach gives too much credit to one
while neglecting the importance of the other. The body has a mind of its
own of which we are simply unconscious of. Our mind is the one that
handles all of the mental processes but the physical plane is out of its
expertise. Thoughts are what send signals to the nervous system to
initiate actions but do not carry them out. By definition, they don’t have
material substance to them but are celestial, which manifest themselves
through some spatial form of expression, like speech, gestures,
drawings etc.
Bodily movement doesn’t happen out of thin air but is fueled by muscles.
In order for the mental plane to enter the physical world it needs to be
embodied in some way. Moreover, the brain itself is a physical thing
belonging to the body. Instead of being distinctive entities they are
intertwined operating systems. The mechanisms carried out are in a
relationship with each other. The proof to this connection lies in our
posture. The way we hold ourself sends specific signals to our
subconscious mind. Research has shown that these indications release
certain hormones within the body. For instance, by slouching over you
will inevitably begin to feel inferior. On the contrary, when you stand
on your two feet with confidence and pride you release more
testosterone. Additionally, our thoughts are what influence the way we
feel thus adjusting our posture accordingly. There is a constant back and
forth correspondence taking place to which we just have to become
more mindful of.
In the Vedas, which are 5000 year old Hindu poetic teachings of
enlightened sages on the origin of the Universe and evolution of life, the
mind is an eternal all-prevading substance. It’s an internal sense, which
is directly or indirectly concerned in physical functions, such as
cognition, feeling and willingness.
However, there is a third entity operating amongst the two. What I’m
talking about is our inner spirit. The easiest and most coherent
definition to it would be our SOUL. It can be understood as something
that makes up who we truly are. While the body and mind sometimes
act according to their own rules then the soul is the true „SELF“.
Well, there isn’t an exact place where you could find and take hold of it.
It’s more like an image you create in your own head and which you use
to correspond with the world. Bare with me.
The basal ganglia, also called the reptilian brain is the most
primitive part of our brain. It governs balance, territoriality,
mating, feeding and other instinctual activities.
Then we have the center part that comprises the „limbic system“,
which consists of the septum, amygdalae, hypothalamus,
hippocampal complex, and cingulate cortex. This the mammalian
or monkey brain – the brain of emotions and social hierarchies.
Finally, at the front, there’s the human brain, the cerebral cortex.
This is where rational thinking is, especially at the pre-frontal
cortex. It’s the most recent step in the evolution of the mammalian
brain and gives the ability for language, abstraction, planning and
perception.
If you wonder where you are, then the answer is right behind your
forehead. That’s where the notion of „SELF“ gets created. But it’s more
than that. As you can see, there is even some as above so below
correspondence in here as well.
The difference between our spirit/soul and the body and mind is
that it is on a higher level of heightened awareness. While the body
and mind act based on instinct and emotion, respectfully, then the pre-
frontal cortex gives us the ability to be aware of these processes. This
meta-cognition enables us to think about how we think. It distinguishes
us from the rest of the animal kingdom and makes us human. Descartes
said: „Cogito ergo sum,“ which means „I think, therefore I am.“ Based on
our knowledge, it should be „I think about my thinking, therefore I am...
aware of myself.“
This meta-awareness changes the game completely. When the body and
mind are definitely deeply connected and intertwined with each other,
then the spirit is outside of this loop entirely. The best illustration I can
think of is the Illuminati pyramid with the eye at the top, floating above
the rest of the structure.
Consciousness is the eye in the pyramid, it’s what makes us human. But
simply having it isn’t enough. Being aware of oneself doesn’t mean that
you can rise above and start floating above. This is where self-mastery
comes into play.
At the bottom, there are yet again the physiological needs. The
first and foremost purpose of any organism is to provide the body
with food and shelter. It’s the conduct of the reptilian brain.
In the middle, there are psychological desires, such as prestige and
a sense of belongingness. As you remember, the limbic system
governs our emotions and social interactions – the mind. This is
as far as the chimpanzees have managed to climb with their group
living.
The next and final step of our current development is self-
actualization: achieving one’s full potential, including creativity
and fulfillment. Reaching this stage isn’t possible without covering
the preceding ones. This is the point where we lift ourselves off
the rest of the pyramid and attain meta-awareness. We’re aware
of being aware and our spirit can see itself floating above the body
and mind.
In order to reach self-actualization and start working on it, you need to
first achieve self-mastery. If the foundation is disfunctional, then you
won’t be able to get past the initial stages of simply surviving. If the
platform in the middle isn’t solid enough, you can’t set aside your ego
and control it. The last quantum leap requires you to overcome these
issues by taking control of your body and mind.
What is Consciousness
The mind can be deceiving, but the body will always tell the difference
between the truth and a lie. It’s an innate part of our psyche and is
embedded in our physiology.
Simply try testing it with someone else and see how it works. Hold your
straight arm laterally on your side, parallel to the ground. Let the other
person ask you a yes and no statement, such as: “Is your name John.”
Just a random example. At the same time, they have to apply pressure
to the arm by trying to push it downward. If the answer is to be correct,
you would find strength to resist it. If the answer is wrong, your arm
would give in and you would go weak.
The kinesiology test does not show a local reaction to the body, but is a
general response of consciousness itself to the energy of a substance or
a statement. A truthful answer yields a positive response, which is
indicated by the muscles strengthening, and comes from the impersonal
field of consciousness that exists in all things living, because the brain
receives energy from the patterns that exist a priori in the mind.
Hawkins used mathematical terms of nonlinear dynamics to create a
limited set of parameters and a map of consciousness (Figure below),
which calibrated from 1 to 1000. The scale indicates the amount of truth
in any form of human expression, such as people, events and objects,
because of the energy they imprint into the timeless quantum field.
Those vibrations of energy get perceived by the attractor patterns on a
subconscious level.
Consciousness operates from the perspective that only truth has actual
existence and the difference between vibrations is only a matter of
degree. Hawkins found that certain levels have emotions attached to
them with fear, anger, anxiety scoring on the low end and joy, love,
compassion being higher. For instance, Mother Teresa calibrated at 500,
whereas Adolf Hitler was under 150. He concluded that the “…quantum
field of consciousness is a powerful attractor which organizes human
behavior into what is innate to “humanness” “ Theoretically, higher
levels surpass the ego by being able to associate oneself with the
collective consciousness.
The highest levels of consciousness are love, compassion and empathy.
Why? Because they all come from seeing things from another person’s
perspective. Think about Kaku’s theory again. The more feedback loops
you have, the higher level of consciousness will be. A thermostat isn’t
aware about anything else, other than the temperature. Mother
Theresa, however, is able to find enough room in her heart for the entire
mankind.
The Collective Unconsciousness
Body mind empowerment is a way towards making that jump. It’s about
progressing towards higher levels of consciousness by treading the road
of non-stop physical and mental improvement. Complete mastery can
never be achieved, that’s why it’s a continuos process. With enough
practice you’ll simply reach a certain point, where you have enough
control and awareness of yourself.
When the body and mind -the reptilian and Lymbic brain, the
physiological and social stage – are deeply connected and interwoven
with each other, then the spirit – the soul, the neocortex, the actualized
– is outside of that circuitry. Its consciousness is all-pervading and
meta-aware. Cogito about my thinking, er sum. This heightened “lift-off”
includes realizing that the “self” is just a part of a much greater
collective – humanity.
The spirit itself is a uniting entity that has managed to surpass the
initial stages of the ego and reached an understanding that includes
more than just its own accord. Spirituality is characterized by a belief
in something greater than oneself. Not necessarily a divine entity or
religion, but all-pervading nonetheless. The belief in one’s own spirit
and recognizing one’s soul amongst many unites this together. It’s an
innate part of being human and the result of our ultra-high levels of
consciousness and meta-awareness.
The majority of the planet is still stuck in the lower stages of their
development, in the physiological domain. Not voluntarily, but because
it’s forced upon them. If they won’t be able to cover the most essential
primal needs they have, then they won’t be able to go any further either.
It’s up to us, the ones who have managed to transcend this boundary
and make the leap, to make a difference. It’s not a notion of creating
hierarchies neither destroying them. Instead, it’s about fighting
inequalities and not taking our abundance as something for granted.
The agōgē was the rigorous education and training regimen of all male
citizens of the Ancient Greek city-state Sparta. In literal sense, the word
translates to “rearing”, but in their context generally meant leading,
guidance and training.
At the age of seven, young boys were taken from their home and drafted
into the agoge, where they started their lifelong military service. The
aim of the system was to produce physically and morally strong
individuals who would serve in the army and become the “walls of
Sparta.” Sparta was the only Greek state with no defensive structures
around its city, after they had been demolished at the order of the semi-
mythical law-giver Lycurgus, who is considered to have created the
agoge as well.
The boys lived in groups (agélai, "herds") under an older man who had
gone through the process already. At the age of 12, they were given only
one item of clothing per year – a red cloak known as a Phoinikis (a
toponym that illustrated the Tyrian purple dye of Phoenician origin used
to give the cloak its color). It was their most prideful attire, which they
wore in battle and almost at any other time. For their beds, they pulled
out reeds with their bare hands from the river Eurotas. The boys were
deliberately underfed so that they would be encouraged to master the
skill of stealthy stealing, without getting caught. This was also meant to
make them accustomed to hunger and rise above it. Stealing by itself
was a dishonorable act in the Spartan community. There’s a story about
one boy who stole a baby fox and hid it underneath his cloak. The beast
started scratching his stomach and rip cage, but the boy stayed silent,
until he passed away. He would much rather suffer and die, rather than
bare the punishment and shame that would have ensued by getting
caught red-handed.
Education in the Agoge differed from that of the rest of Ancient Greece.
Men were meant to only compete in athletic events and battles. They
only developed their literacy to a bare minimum level. Those who would
become kings, diplomats or generals would also have to improve their
rhetoric, reading and writing skills. The Body Mind Agoge takes this
necessity into account and cultivates both one’s physical and mental
abilities. It’s not one or the other but instead have to be developed as a
whole.
The Warrior Archetype
The Spartans were more than brutes. They were disciplined warriors
that provided servitude to their people. According to Jung’s psychology,
the human psyche possesses several universal archetypes that are
embedded in the collective unconscious. They’re like character elements
or archaic patterns of behavior that embody a given aspect of humanity
and are the psychic counterpart of instinct. For instance, there is the
mother, the child, the father, the mentor and the trickster, which can be
found in the mythology of all cultures across the world. Myth is the
vessel by which these archetypes manifest themselves in daily living.
They’re depicted as stories about certain personality types and what’s
right and wrong.
Even though these traits are all aggressive, the warrior is still peaceful
in his heart and actions. The shadow aspects are the sadist and
masochist, who take action just to get some sort of enjoyment out of it
at the expense of others. The Warrior has aligned integrity in body,
mind and spirit.
Alexander, the son of Phillip, marched deep into unknown territory with
courageousness in his heart. He used to say: “I am not afraid of an army
of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion.” The
man’s determination and ambition was borderline obsessive, which was
the reason for his achievement. Someone who hadn’t possessed such
assertiveness would’ve taken their Persian gold and turned back home.
In the Indian epic the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna is faced with a difficult
situation. His clan has gone to war with one of his cousin’s faction to
decide the succession to the throne. It’s the eve of battle and soon, he’ll
have to fight his brethren and kill his family. In remorse, he wants to
abandon his calling as a warrior because of there not being any
righteousness (Dharma) in his actions.
Lord Krishna reveals himself and convinces him to still fight. It might
not seem right, but the back story explains it more deeply. The opposing
tribe wasn’t righteous. They were unjust in their behavior and ruled
with fear. Arjuna didn’t want to fight just because they were his
relatives. Anyone else would’ve been destroyed immediately with no
questions asked. It was his relationship with them that prevented him
from taking action, as there were some family members in his own
coalition as well. It was Arjuna’s duty as a warrior to fight, because that
was his calling. The violence it caused was justified, as it prevented even
more violence to come in the future.
It’s not selfish but selfless. The Gita teaches, that virtue is associated
with strength and fearlessness (Abhi). The more spiritual one becomes,
the more fearless and stronger one becomes. In this book, this is
achieved by cultivating physical strength in the body and overcoming
the fears imposed by the ego in the mind. Thus, you get access to your
spirit and become more conscious as well as compassionate towards
everything. The Warrior doesn’t have to fight, but is simply someone
who has a higher cause and is training for it.
I’ve connected with my Warrior spirit many times in the past. When I
was in the military I definitely felt some aspects of duty and providing
service as a soldier. I was trained to be a sniper and my job was an
essential part of the entire company’s performance. It felt like I was
obligated to do it, but I was wrong.
Being in the army was not my calling. For me, a much better way to
provide service to mankind is not protection through fighting but with
my writings. To be honest, I’m probably more of a Warrior now than I
was before.
Now there aren’t warlords and chieftains but entrepreneurs and CEO-s,
basically doing the equivalent of conquest, with the exception of
pillaging being replaced with cash flow instead. So it is with my own
vocation. Every time I start writing or working out, I feel as if I’m going
to battle. To battle with myself and the blank sheet of paper in front of
me or the resistance I’m going to encounter.
The archetype manifests itself in many different forms. It’s also not the
only one. Masculine energy also comprises of the King, Magician and
Lover. We all have different proportions of them. But in the Body Mind
Agoge, the dominant power is the Warrior. A peaceful kind.
Ever since Freud and Jung, many psychologists afterwards have noted
that the human personality is governed by several different “sub-egos.”
Sometimes we act more like a father, mother, a child, a mentor, a friend
etc. There is the procrastinator, the hustler, the Casanova, the artist,
the extrovert, the athlete and millions of more. They may originate from
the collective unconscious of the human psyche. What tends to dominate
depends on how much power we’ve given to one of these “egos.” It
happens on a habitual basis and is influenced by our thoughts and
actions. Who we think we are will begin to recreate the patterns of
behavior we’ve omitted to ourselves.
The ego will always try to protect itself and not let any other of these
personalities into its inner circle. Why? It’s afraid of losing its throne
and thus perishing. Survival is detrimental for the reproduction of the
ego’s agenda. It’s only interest has to do with making the cut itself, at
the expense of others.
By the same token, we’re beginning to take control of our own evolution
thanks to our meta-awareness and a phenomenon called niche
construction. In essence, it’s an organism’s ability to shape their own
environment according to their liking and thus boost their reproductive
success. In beavers, it’s building dams. In humans, skyscrapers, central
heating, agriculture, airplanes, highways, the Internet and so on.
The word arête doesn’t have an exact phrase in English. Most accurate
equivalents are “excellence” and “virtue,” but there’s also something a
lot deeper to it that cannot be expressed verbally. It has a divine essence
to it. Whenever you experience something that can be called excellent,
let’s say you see an amazing piece of art, hear a magnificent symphony
or feel some sort of physical goose bumps, then you’re getting as close
to it as humanely possible. Perfection is an ideal too far away from
anyone’s reach. However, the phenomenon of arête is the notion of
having achieved greatness and manifesting it in the real world. In
moments of excellence, we experience a transcendence from the
mundane into the Divine.
In Eastern Philosophy, this telos is the 7th spiritual law of success – the
Law of Dharma, or purpose in life. It’s based on the notion that everyone
of us are already divine creatures and have simply taken physical
manifestation in this world to fulfill a goal in this life. Finding our
Dharma and acting according to that is supposed to be the one thing
we’re concerned with, as anything else is a waste of time.
If you don’t already know your calling, then I suggest you immediately
find it out for anything else is a waste of our potential. If you’re
intimidated by this task of great importance, then fear not. You probably
know it already. You just have to ask yourself the following questions.
The answers to all three of those questions can help us in finding our
calling. Arete is about living out our Dharma by expressing our
greatness and virtuosity.
BookIII
Becoming a Self-Empowered Being
“You will never have a greater or lesser dominion than that over
yourself...the height of a man's success is gauged by his self-mastery;
the depth of his failure by his self-abandonment. ...And this law is the
expression of eternal justice. He who cannot establish dominion over
himself will have no dominion over others.”
Leonardo da Vinci.
„Self-control is strength.
Right thought is mastery.
Calmness is power.“
James Allen.
The people look for someone to save them but there’s no one brave
enough to be found. The hero is a part of them and is afraid like
everyone else. However, after the initial refusal, he is convinced by a
mysterious spiritual being or a mentor to rise to the occasion. The hero
does just that, he accepts the perilous quest and decides to save the
village and his tribe.
How the story goes.
Additionally, on the road he will come across mentors, the Wise Old
Man, and helpers all providing him with knowledge about what to do.
There are also internal demons, external tricksters and challenges the
hero has to overcome. In the beginning he’s just a village boy. It’s during
the journey the hero within him gets shaped.
The realm has been saved and the hero can return home. He is now not
any ordinary villager but a leader of his people. The wisest and
strongest of all, he brought peace for today and hope for tomorrow.
What this archetype reveals is that people not only like epic stories but
also glorify their own existence through that narrative. Why shouldn’t
we do that? Why not live a life that looks like a chapter from an
adventure book? Why settle for mediocrity when there’s the possibility
to let our imagination flourish?
It’s about creating something exciting and amazing out of our being. In
a sense, it’s an artistic manifestation of our greatness. Rather than
boring, it can be anything we would like it to be. We can write our own
book and choose what the hero is like.
It’s about waking up to the opportunities that surround us and making
our existence meaningful. The purpose is to not follow the narrative of
someone else but to do so with our own scenes. We can choose to make
an epic journey out of our life. The possibility of greatness is available
to all of us.
Most of our thoughts and actions are habitual and automatic. The reason
for that is so that our brain could preserve more energy by not having
to exert that much effort into things that we do a lot. These tasks are
assigned to our subconscious mind which then begins to run the show.
This is great in an evolutionary sense as we now have more resources
to use.
However, most of the time the patterns which have already become a
part of us will start to influence us in a negative way. If they’re
programmed in a way that doesn’t serve us and are the result of false
conditioning then we will have to change them.
If that is the case then our conscious self needs to intervene the process
and make the necessary adjustments. This task can be accomplished
only by a master as anything lower than that isn’t powerful enough to
break the cycle.
We can now create the entire body mind empowerment pyramid that’s
based on the structure of our brain and the hierarchy of needs. Here’s
how it looks like with our current knowledge.
On that note, we’ve now become catalysts to change. Momentum is on
our side, as we’ve grasped the entire idea behind body mind
empowerment and the Agoge. Now what’s left is to just do it. The other
half of the book will cover the most optimal ways of optimizing our
biology and psychology by achieving mastery. These strategies are
supposed to lay the foundation to our self-actualization Odyssey and
make us Superhuman.
Part II
Odýsseia
The Odyssey
Book I
Sóma
The Body
The body belongs to the physical plane of existence, that is the most
bottom portion of the pyramid. Don’t think it’s inferior because of that
in any way. In fact, it’s the most fundamental and essential stage of
development that dictates the outcome of everything we do in life.
Achieving mastery over our body had nothing to do with asserting some
sort of a masochistic dominance over our physique. Instead, it’s about
being optimally healthy beyond wellness and more than fit.
Physical training was the core essence of the Agoge in 4th century BC
and the Spartans were strong in both the body and mind. Their mental
toughness was derived from forging their body through sweat and
blood. They had gone through hell and back time and time again for
several times, thus they became almost invincible on the battlefield.
Even though the purpose is to be over-fit like the Spartans, we’re still
not going to follow their approach. Their toughness was based on pure
discipline and willpower. Don’t get me wrong, we’re going to get our
hands dirty, but there’s a better, a much more optimal way of doing
things that will yield greater results.
Health is our most vital asset in life and our greatest treasure. It
influences every aspect of our being, as a poorly functioning body will
corrupt the mind as well, preventing ever reaching higher stages of
development.
It’s sad to see the condition most of the population is in. I’m not talking
about fat-shaming. However, there’s still something faulty in their
reasoning. Being obese means that you’re completely disconnected with
who you are. It’s as if your pyramid doesn’t have the self-actualization
part at all. If you’re overweight, then that’s because you’ve violated the
necessity of taking care of your body. You keep on eating and eating
junk food without realizing that you’re damaging your health not to
mention your physique. Vanity isn’t the idea here – it’s about being more
conscious as a person and knowing what’s right for your health.
The first and probably the most important part to this is optimal
nutrition. What is it? It’s a concept of mine that includes eating to live
and to fuel ourselves properly so that we would be more powerful and
less fatigued. The metaphor of fueling isn’t the best one I would like to
picture food with because it’s more than that. Food is not just medicine
either, as the Chinese proverb goes. It’s more than that and is the
biggest determining factor of our power levels.
The whole concept can be grasped under one sentence, which goes as
follows: “Optimal nutrition is eating the right things, in the right
amounts, at the right time.”
What’s best about this definition is that it approaches the whole idea of
nutrition OBJECTIVELY. It’s a holistic term that covers everything we
should be concerned with. Following the same diet plans as everyone
else won’t work because our conditions vary. An athlete has a
completely different style of training and lifestyle than a sedentary
person does. It would be absolutely insane to feed the two in a similar
manner. Their metabolism will react according to how much they train,
what’s their current body composition, what are their health conditions
and how much they rest etc.
Following optimal nutrition on the other hand means that you’re taking
into account the most determining factor for your results – you. You’re
the one who is going to have to stick with the plan and eat the food.
The 3 variables: the right things, the right amounts and the right time
are all quintessential and being constantly altered. In fact, they
probably shift throughout the day. As the conditions of our bodies
change so should our meals.
Despite all of us being unique snowflakes, there are still some principles
that apply to everyone. Our individual DNA might differ, but the
physiology, the blueprint, is the same. That’s why optimal nutrition
ought to be based on whole foods. It’s not that processing is innately
bad, as I would imagine in the future we’ll be creating all of our food
artificially. It’s just that currently we lack the skill and knowledge to
create products that are healthy. There are some very good ones out
there but the foundation should still be made up of whole unprocessed
foods.
You might have heard of the Paleo diet. It’s an ancestral movement that
includes eating the same way as our caveman ancestors did. Even
though we’re living in a modern world, our bodies are still experiencing
this evolutionary time-lag. The Paleo diet takes that into account and
bases the foods around that notion. For optimal nutrition it’s a good
starting point, as you’ll be able to get good health.
Foods eaten on the Paleo diet
The idea of the Paleo diet is to consume a whole foods based diet that’s
not processed and incorporates a wide variety of healthy vegetables,
meats, nuts and fats. Refined carbohydrates are damaging our DNA and
causing cellular death, by actually draining us from energy. If we want
to cover our physiological demands in abundance, then we can’t be
fatigued or overly tired.
As good and easy as the Paleo diet might seem on paper, it does have its
shortcomings. There are several flaws and principles that are simply
dogmatic. For instance, unless intolerant to dairy or lactose, it’s not
necessary to avoid cheese. Drinking pasteurized milk is bad but butter
is very healthy and good for us. Also, I doubt that any caveman had year-
round access to fruit in all parts of the world. By creating romanticism
around ancestral eating, we won’t be following optimal nutrition.
By default, our body is wired to burning glucose for fuel, which comes
from sugar. Muscles are fueled by carbohydrates and that’s why the
Paleo diet isn’t optimal for great performance. You won’t be able to meet
your glycogen demands on a sugar burning engine because you won’t
get enough carbs on Paleo.
On the flip side, our body is an incredibly complex system that has found
a way to adapt to almost anything. In times of survival, we begin to use
our own body fat for fuel. The adipose tissue acts like a black hole that
can deposit an infinite amount of calories. It’s our ability to produce
inner energy with our stored means.
That’s why I’ve kept it for another book. Read it if you’re interested in
completely optimizing your DNA and biology.
Resistance Training
The other side of the coin to optimal health is fitness. In this domain
we’re also suffering from some evolutionary time-lag. As hunter-
gatherers we were constantly on the move and on our feet for the
majority of the day. Our bodies were strong and fit because of the
conditions posed by the ancestral savannah where failure was not an
option.
In today’s world, man can get away with doing nothing. We can choose
to sit on the couch all day and not lift a finger, only the one that would
keep stuffing food down our throat. This will have obvious
consequences on our physiology and health.
The reason why the Spartans were almost invincible on the battlefield
was that they had dedicated their life to war. Their days were filled with
countless drills, line formations and battle strategies. They were a well-
oiled machine. What made them so deadly was that they acted as a
unified whole.
The phalanx was the preferred military unit across all Greece. It
composed of heavy infantry men with armor and long spears called the
dory, which were 9 feet long (2.5 meters). In the Macedonian army,
created by Phillip and lead by Alexander the Great, the spears were
called sarissa and were at least twice as long.
Their lines were like a steel wall with pikes, resembling an impenetrable
hedgehog. The troops were next to each other, side by side, and were
each other’s brothers in arms. This made them move and breath like a
united force. The shield they carried was not meant to cover themselves,
but to protect the man beside him. In the phalanx, the one comprised
the whole. As within, so without.
In the Body Mind Agoge, the purpose of physical training isn’t to wage
war on barbarians or the Persians, but to improve our health and well-
being, by causing certain physiological adaptations to occur inside our
body. We’ll still be able to attain a Spartan physique. I hope you can see
the resemblance between me and Leonidas.
What is strength?
The more muscle we have the higher our TDEE will be because
of the expensive cost of maintaining that tissue. It will also
boost our metabolism and make us look aesthetic.
I’ve also written a book called Keto Bodybuilding that includes the
ketogenic diet and resistance training. It’s the most optimal way of
building muscle, gaining strength and losing fat.
Cardiovascular Fitness
However, the danger to this lies in the fact that it also becomes
addictive because of the same very reason. It’s definitely
healthy, but only to a certain point. Once that threshold has
been crossed we will be doing more damage than good. The
running craze started in the 1970s and 80s. Most steady state
athletes overtrained themselves but continued to jog because
of how obsessed they had become with it. A sustainable and
efficient training regimen ought to always follow a minimal
effective dosage philosophy.
The next piece of the puzzle towards higher levels of consciousness and
transcendence lies within our own physiology. By taking control of it we
can rise above our evolutionary predispositions and choose what type
of adaptations we allow to happen and which ones we discard. It is the
ultimate definition of body mastery and necessary to bring the rest of
the pieces together.
The purpose is to achieve full control over our own physiology. By the
end we will be able to rise above our biology to a certain degree. You
will be able to choose what state your body is in and deliberately
influence your autonomic nervous system.
We also have a role model to follow. His name is Wim Hof, a Dutchman
called the “Iceman”. He holds 20 Guiness World Records involving
superhuman feats such as being immersed in ice for 2 hours, climb
Mount Everest and Kilimanjaro in nothing but his shorts, run a
marathon above the Arctic circle in Finland and one in the Namib desert
dressed in the same manner.
Previously it has been thought that humans cannot control their
autonomic nervous system but the research done on Wim Hof shows
what this is not the case. The man has single-handedly refuted Western
science and has proven that we are powerful beyond measure. We just
need to know how. The strategies outlined in this module are not
precisely the same as Wim Hof’s as he is the true master. The purpose
is to get in touch with our inner currents of energy and manage them
appropriately.
The reason why it was thought that we are unable to control our
autonomic nervous system in the first place is that, without enough
attention, our subconscious mind will take care of everything for us.
We simply have to become more aware and thus we begin to feel more
what goes on inside us. It is not esoteric, simply kept hidden from the
analytical mind and allocated to our intuition. By combining these two
modes of being we will be able to experience both and then master our
physiology.
There are some easy and quick strategies we can use to immediately
become more present and mindful about the state of our body. It’s
BREATHING.
Bringing our conscious attention to the ins and outs of our breath will
force us to become aware of what goes on within. Taking control of our
respiratory processes will give us confidence in doing so with anything
else that concerns us as well. Food and water is something we can
survive for days without but a lack of oxygen will kill us in minutes.
If you are gasping for air and cannot take control of it, then you are
creating a stress response within the body and stimulating the fight or
flight hormone. If, however, you are breathing calmly, like in a
meditative state, then you will enter the mode of rest and digest which
makes you more tranquil and at ease.
As a result, our overall life will improve as well not just our
performance. While training hard we will be able to maintain our
strength by not gassing out, because of not knowing how to breath
properly. In everyday life, we will become more mindful about ourselves
and the world around us, making us experience less stress and other
types of catabolic activities.
There are a lot of breathing exercises we could potentially do. There are
numerous patterns and variations to it, so it would be pointless going
through all of them. Instead of clogging our mind with more and more
ways of doing it we simply need to know the fundamental principles of
a proper practice and then do it every time we need to take control.
Think of a box with 4 facets. They are stages of your breathing with each
phase lasting for 4 seconds.
Breath in for 4
Hold it for 4
Exhale for 4
Pause for 4
Repeat
Do it for 4 minutes in total.
By the end of it, you will have reached a semi-meditative state which
makes you completely centered within your body and calm. It feels
amazing and you are entirely in the rest and digest mode.
When I made the archetype of this lesson Wim Hof I did it for a purpose.
His mindful and deliberate controlling of his own autonomic nervous
system enables him to voluntarily regulate his core temperature while
even being immersed in ice for 2 hours. It might seem like crazy but it
is the ultimate superhuman feat to accomplish. Not only is it incredibly
healthy and beneficial for our body but also a manifestation of mind
over matter. By being conscious enough to light up his inner furnace he
is rising above the circumstances he is surrounded by and is becoming
bulletproof to external factors. We want to be able to do the same.
By nature, cold triggers the anabolic state within the body and will force
us to become immediately present. If we were to endure low
temperatures, then we would have to have a body that knows how to
create its own heat. In the contemporary world it happens less and less
as we have the opportunity to turn up the central heating and always
cover ourselves with fluffy clothing. By not being exposed to cold
weather, the body will eventually lose its ability in heat regulation or at
least decrease its efficiency at it. To not lose this vital skill we ought to
voluntarily train cold thermogenesis.
The easiest and most obvious place to start would be with cold showers.
It would be too difficult to jump straight away to 2-hour ice baths like
Wim Hof but if you dedicate yourself completely to it then someday you
might be able to do something similar. The amount of effort required in
comparison to the immense benefits we get from simply taking a quick
5-minute cold shower is minuscule. We will be doing so little but getting
that much.
Small veins restrict blood flow. With exposure to cold you can condition
the veins to get larger and allow more warm blood to reach the
extremities. As you progress through the stages of the cold exercises,
you will begin to understand the body on a deeper level.
Phase 1 cold shower after a hot one. Try to control your breaths
and lungs. Instead of gasping breathe with ease. Regular practice
will improve your arteries and conditions the entire vascular
system.
Phase 2 straight to cold showers. Before you even begin, your
body temperature will already drop because of your mind
anticipating it. Our thoughts have that much power over our
physiology. That’s why it’s important to first master our mind.
Breathe naturally and you will be able to steer your mind towards
adaptation and consciously regulating the autonomic nervous
system. Forcing it doesn’t work because of the body will begin to
fight back.
Phase 3 ice water immersion. Add in visualizations. Visualize
heat generating within your body just before you enter. With every
breath, make this sensation more intense and keep your mind
focused on the heat. Stay in the cold water for as long as it feels
comfortable. If you feel pain or uneasiness, then it’s time to get
out and wait for the next time.
The first is physical, the pure fact of getting used to it. When
we’re habitually conditioned in a way that promotes lower
temperatures then it will gradually have lesser of an effect on us.
This can be accomplished through exposing ourselves to the
weather. Additionally, by learning how to light up a furnace inside
of us which would give us warmth.
When we’re shivering, we’ll inevitably try to run away from the
situation by any means necessary. Whether going inside or putting on
more clothes. But, in essence, what it means is that we’re trying to
escape the present moment as well.
Cold is one of the best ways to become more mindful of our
surroundings but also to get in touch with our self. In it, we can
experience our thoughts, emotions and feel our internal currents of
energy. It’s about becoming more conscious as a human being and not
falling victim to external forces but becoming independent of them.
Training cold thermogenesis is just another strategy we can use to
accomplish just that.
At first, it will definitely not be enjoyable. Our muscles will tense up,
we’ll start to shiver, our thoughts will scream: „Let’s get the hell out of
here!“ This is only our habitual response.
Tibetan monks and Yogis call it Tummo meditation, which helps them
to gain control over the body’s processes. The trainees would spend cold
nights up in the mountains and survive by regulating their inner
thermostat. This is done by controlling the respiratory process with
various patterns and occasionally stopping it completely. The heart rate
slows down and the venous blood returns less impurities into the
stream. What accompanies it is creative visualization from the inside
out. It’s as if the practitioner becomes the breath itself travelling
through the body by envisioning it as a source of light capable of
creating heat. To get to such high levels where there is an actual effect
requires a lot of training. This is just a meagre explanation of what
actually happens as there are definitely a lot of secrets to be found and
known to only the most avid of trainees.
How this is achieved isn’t as important as the sheer fact that we’re able
to create inner fire by focusing on our breathing. This can be
accomplished by anyone and is the result of a lot of conditioning and
proper training of cold thermogenesis.
The most important thing is to remain calm both body and mind. Rather
than tensing up like we normally would we need to let loose and yield
to the cold.
After the initial response has been overcome, we’ll begin to feel quite
good, actually empowered. It’s still cold but it has less of an effect on
us. At this point we’ve exited our comfort and entered the growth zone.
We begin to feel good and want to stay there for longer. The first and
biggest obstacle has been overcome as we now have the possibility to
explore the experience. Take a look at how you actually feel in the
situation. Come to terms with the fact that it’s not that bad and there’s
nothing to fear. The more you spend in this uncharted territory the more
you’ll condition yourself and thus grow.
Doing this once will not be of much use. In order for the positive effects
to stick we need to be doing it habitually. This becomes less of an issue
as the experience turns into something that we enjoy. Rather than
seeing it as a chore it becomes fun. Going through the process of facing
the fear, overcoming the obstacle and thus thriving is extremely
empowering and almost becomes addictive, that of the good kind.
Practicing gradual exposure can lengthen the amount of time you’re able
to endure cold. Regular cold showers will eventually get too easy for
you. That’s when I like to take it to outside during the winter.
If you live in a cold climate, then you’re in luck because you have access
to your own personal cyrochamber just outside. Walking barefoot in the
snow or even swimming in it is a great way to condition your body and
practice controlling your physiology.
To create more heat in your limbs you can also do another exercise.
Start slapping your hands on your back and sideways. At the same time,
breathe in deeply and in a rhythmic pattern. This will keep you warm
and won’t make your fingers go numb, which is not what we want.
Having covered our physiological needs, we can now take the next step
in our development. What comes after the reptilian brain is the Lymbic
system. The mind belongs to the mental plane of existence and is
manifested in our thoughts and emotions.
What are thoughts? They’re the conversations we have in our head, the
perceptions we have about the environment and the idea of who we are
as a person. Most of them happen on autopilot and are completely
random.
Our state of mind plays a crucial role in our everyday existence and
well-being. You probably know someone who is all over the place. Their
disorganized and rushing thoughts make them lose control over their
actions as well. They can’t dictate their own behavior because they’re
under the rule of their own emotions. What’s worse, the conversations
they have in their head are negative, which only re-creates this
perpetual cycle of suffering.
On the flip side, if a person has mastered their mind, then they will be
able to stay in a calm state of mind that’s tranquil and peaceful even if
the external surroundings are disturbing. It’s extremely difficult for
someone restless to become joyful even when they’re in a safe and
friendly environment.
Our thoughts can dictate our reality, and change our perception of the
world around us. Mastering our emotions and mind will enable us to
create it ourselves.
“The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.”
Being anxious is nothing else but a signal that we’re heading in the right
direction, as we’re threatening the dominance of our ego. What’s more,
every thought we have is an equalizer of some sorts. As it is with the
body, every action we take leads to the following reactions and
adaptations. It’s the law of karma and causality. That’s why it’s essential
to be able to control the course of what goes on inside of us.
The ego will give rise to different emotions and thoughts that ought to
prevent us from doing things that involve change and effort. When that
follows, we have to make a disciplined recalibration that would set our
vibration to the right level that’s in congruent with who we truly are.
Doctor David Hawkins mapped the entirety of human consciousness and
discovered that certain emotions have power levels behind them. These
quantifications were taken based on kinesiology tests across cultures
and were universal in pattern. What it says is that they’re objective and
truthful in nature.
What links this transition from being fearful and starting to walk the
path of truth is courageousness. It’s the willingness to take action not
because there is no fear. No, it’s the ability to take action in spite of its
presence. Fear will never go away, it’s just that those who succeed have
managed to face against it despite the way they feel. They get anxious
but will act nonetheless. That’s what we have to do as well.
Hercules, the hero of Ancient Greece, did exactly this. The Nemean lion
had been terrorizing the local people for a long time. King Eurystheus
gave Hercules the task to bring him the beast’s invulnerable skin.
During his chase Hercules realised that his arrows had no effect on the
target. When the lion had escaped into its cave the hero followed. In
close quarters he entered into hand-to-claw combat and eventually
choked his foe to death. After that he took his skin and started to wear
it as a cloak himself.
Hercules had to face fear, did it despite the danger and, figuratively
speaking, became the lion he had slain. Not only was he now a much
better fighter but also managed to display his self-mastery to himself.
His success was the result of his courageousness. The lion must’ve been
shocked when Hercules entered the cave and decided to wrestle with
the beast. No one had ever done that. Hercules overcame the anxiety
and was able to face fear despite being between its jaws. He was
victorious because of being able to take control of his thoughts and
actions.
Facing our fears is a lot more important than to simply rise above any
form of resistance that impedes our greatness. It’s also a means towards
transcendence.
The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying and The Egyptian Book of the Dead
have one common scene in them concerning what happens after death.
When a person dies their soul will be summoned to a room. In Egypt
inside the pyramids, in Tibet inside a mountain. It’s the purgatory that
Christianity talks about and where the idea was conceived.
Before the soul can enter the spiritual realm, become one with the all,
it has to go through a trial. It’s done to find out whether or not the
individual is worthy enough and understands the law. In front of him
will be summoned monstrous beings, all trying to scare him. They’re not
real but instead manifestations of the person’s own mind.
If the soul is conscious enough and able to face fear, in spite its
presence, he will not falter. Once the realization has been made, that
it’s all an illusion, enough perseverance will grant access to another
realm. If the trial is failed and the soul becomes frightened, then he is
not aware of his inner turmoil. There isn’t enough self-mastery to face
fear, not internal nor external. The soul will be thus expelled from the
purgatory and cast back to the Earthly realm where he will be
reincarnated.
The soul will then have to go through the circle of life again to gather
enough wisdom and become conscious enough. To realize the fact that
in order to transcend his mode of being he needs to become aware of
who he is and that he is in control of his own reality.
The Antifragile Mental Operating System
The nature of the world is that change is inevitable and that we can
never be sure what’s going to happen to us. Excuse my French, but, sh*t
is going to hit the fan sooner or later. When it does we will either perish
or succeed.
The term was coined by Nassim Nicholas Taleb in his bestselling book
Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder. It’s a step beyond
robustness because it actually benefits from chaos and adversity. So it
is with stoicism.
stoic
Someone who does not give a shit about the stupid things in this
world that most people care so much about. Stoics do have
emotions, but only for the things in this world that really matter.
They are the most real people alive.
Keeps going.
Have you ever had a negative experience which later turned out a lot
better than you expected? During the actual event we’re cussing and
struggling, but in retrospect we realize that we’ve gained a lot of
wisdom from that challenge and actually emerged as a better person. A
person stranded on an island in the middle of the ocean will have to
fight for their survival. Talk about another bestselling book or
blockbuster movie, if they survive, that is.
Whatever the case might, there is still so much to learn from challenges
and obstacles. As in the case with resistance training, once overcome,
we’ll get stronger and better. Without the stimulus for growth, we won’t
be able to improve.
It’s not the challenge per se that makes us better but the overcoming
aspect of it that does so. In difficult situations and in adverse conditions
we’re forced to adapt to novel stimuli. As a result, we bulletproof
ourselves to whatever might happen to us.
I’ve used stoic techniques to come to terms with the fact that sh*t will
hit the fan sooner or later. Having pre-emptively conditioned myself,
I’m able to suck it up and deal with it. Like the saying goes: “When the
going gets tough, the tough get going.”
If you keep the worst case scenario constantly in the back of your head,
the Stoics tell us, we become immune to the dangers of too much
positive thinking, which isn’t a realistic account of the world. If you
were to only expect the good, then you’ll lead yourself to despair
because anything less than ideal will become unbearable. That’s why
someone who has never had to work hard a day in their lives will be
remorseful once they’ve lost their riches. Only by envisioning the bad
can we truly appreciate the good. Marcus Aurelius started each day
telling himself: “I shall meet with meddling, ungrateful, violent,
treacherous, envious, and unsociable people.”
That’s why stoicism is the best mental operating system to have. You’re
antifragile and bulletproof to external events. Whatever happens, you
can only gain from them. The reference experienced you’ll gather will
give you knowledge about the nature of change and teaches you how to
overcome obstacles, in spite of their seemingly insurmountable size.
What makes stoicism work is also the concept of memento mori, the
remembrance of death. It’s a meditative exercise that’s supposed to
remind the person that everything in the world – the body, career,
reputation, even family – should not be the primary focus of our minds,
nor the source of our happiness, because these things can be swept away
by death at an instant.
Thirdly, don’t take things for granted. Condition yourself to being happy
with less not more. Too high demands will make it more difficult for
you to maintain your happiness. If you’re used to less ideal conditions,
then anything beyond that is already an immense improvement. On the
flip side, if you’re constantly having it easy and well off, then you’ll fall
face down on the ground once something unpredictable makes you lose
all your riches.
I’ve written several blog posts about this, in which I go into further
derail on how to use different stoic techniques to become antifragile.
The most effective way of taking control of our thoughts and emotions
is through mindfulness. If we’re fully present and aware of what goes
on at any given moment, then we won’t fall into the trap of our afflictive
conditioning.
Our consciousness rises and, rather than seeing our thoughts and
emotions as ourselves, we can see our true self as the awareness behind
them. In that moment, we become the observer, rather than the
participant of our body. We don’t leave reality but we simply are there.
No pain, no pleasure, no troubles, no excitement – it’s like a neutral
state. That’s the best way I can describe it. Pure stillness.
With all of those tips, we can construct a solid meditation practice that
will enable us to take control of our mind and make it still for a while.
This mental training is the equivalent of lifting weights with our
muscles. It ought to be a daily practice and something done habitually.
As a result, you’ll be able to become more mindful in everything else you
do as well. This will skyrocket your results in anything you do because
you’ll be able to get more in touch with your higher consciousness.
Body Mind Agoge Meditation
The whole Agoge meditation takes for about 15-20 minutes. You don’t
really need to do more than that. Doing less won’t hurt you either but
you won’t be able to go through the entire process, which I’m about to
share with you. There are additional characteristics that we’ll be
including that will increase our vibration and give us more power. The
best time to do this is right in the morning after you wake up. Your mind
is still slightly drowsy and in between a wakeful and unconscious state.
It’s the perfect moment to feed it the right messages.
In total, this should take you about 15-20 minutes. During the entire
process, try to incorporate as much senses and emotions as possible.
Focus on the positive aspect of things because it has a lot more power
to it.
Doing this daily will set you up for success, quite literally.
First, you’ll be able to see that you’re not identical with your
thoughts. Their occurrence doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re
in line with who you really are. You will begin to see yourself from
another perspective and become more mindful.
Secondly, you’ll realize how amazing life really is. You’ll see how
many things there are to be grateful for. You can thus express your
joy and compassion on other people, which will make you attract
the happiness you so desire.
Third, you’ll be able to take massive action towards accomplishing
your dreams. With a non-attached heart, you’ll muster enough
courage to begin doing the things you want to do but are afraid of.
By envisioning yourself having already achieved the success you
want, your subconscious mind will perceive it as reality and will
start to guide your conscious actions towards the same direction.
https://soundcloud.com/siim-land/body-mind-empowerment-
meditation/s-uy6C0
The same goes with habits. We’ve picked up certain behavioral patterns
as a result of repeated actions. Without us even noticing it, we omit
them into our psyche. What we do most gets interpreted as a signal for
our subconscious mind to be put on autopilot.
The thing is that there are some habits that will begin to control our
lives and are negative by nature.
Imagine that life is like a ruler with two ends to it. Everything we do
moves us in a certain direction towards one end or the other. All of our
activities are either serving or harming us and either getting us closer
or further away from where we want to get. Even if the change is minute
it still counts in the grand scheme of things.
The way we approach our day to day tasks will determine our mindset
towards everything. If we habitually lack focus, then we won’t be able
to concentrate on anything deliberately either. By giving in to
temptation and not using discipline we will not be able to have any self-
mastery whatsoever. Therefore, it’s important to become mindful of this
fact and principle. We’re constantly being conditioned according to our
activities which we luckily are in control of and able to change.
How do you start diagnosing and then changing your bad behavior? By
figuring out the habit loop. And the first step is to identify the routine.
What’s the cue that triggers the routine? Do you grab for junk food
because you get hungry? Or do you get bored? Is there a way to pre-
emptively prevent that from happening?
What’s the reward as well? The short sugar rush you get? The feeling of
satiety? Getting distracted for a moment? Simply eating something? Can
you get the same reward mechanisms from something else, such as a
healthy snack or a short walk around the block?
Rewards are meant to satisfy our specific cravings and desires for
something. The problem is that we’re not conscious of them and what
effect they have on our behaviors.
To figure out which cravings are driving certain habits, you should
experiment with different rewards.
Whenever you get the urge to eat junk food, change your routine, so that
the reward would be different as well. Instead of running to the nearest
supermarket to grab a doughnut, go take a walk around the block
without eating anything. The next time go to a fast food restaurant and
eat French fries. The next time go to the farmer’s market to buy some
vegetables. The next time drink a big cup of water or read a book etc.
The idea is to figure out which craving is initiating the routine. Are you
really hungry, do you want something salty, a break from your work or
are you simply bored.
Experimenting with different rewards can help you isolate what you’re
actually craving. Once that is done, you can identify the cue that
instigates the routine.
Location
Time
Emotional state
Other people
Immediately preceding action
In the case of running to the store to buy junk food, you write down
these 5 things immediately the urge kicks in.
Do this for several days and see if there are any re-emerging patterns.
Maybe you crave something always at the exact time of the day? Or
whenever you get bored or anxious?
You can choose a better outcome for this 3 step formula: the triggering
CUE, the ROUTINE that follows, and the REWARD we get.
If you’ve discovered that you start eating junk food at a certain time of
the day because you get bored, then have a plan that would circumvent
that.
Let’s say, at 3PM you always start craving for junk food because you get
bored because you’re alone in the house. The cues are boredom and the
reward is the good feeling you get from socializing. Eating food is just
another way of alleviating that.
Have a plan that would change some of the cues and routines. Pre-
emptively be prepared to go and talk to someone before the time you
get bored or when you stay alone.
Habits are definitely more difficult and complex, but this is a good
starting point of analyzing our behavior and beginning to control it. It
will at least increase our mindfulness about what goes on inside of us
and how we can do a better job at it.
Lover of Wisdom
A warrior needs to hone his mind as much as he trains his body. His
cognition has to be sharp as a knife. It’s quintessential.
This principle is about becoming the student of life and to never stop
learning. This way we will be able to make sense of ourselves and how
the world works or at least how we think it does. It implies living in
reality not creating an illusion of it.
Knowledge can come in almost any shape or form but the easiest and
comprehensive way to find it is to read books. These vessels of wisdom
hold the secrets of who we are and how the world around us functions.
It’s not a superpower but something that can be trained. Like any other
skill it needs to be practiced deliberately. Mastery isn’t the result of
countless hours in of themselves but requires intention and enough
comprehension. The more we go through the process, the better we get.
At first it might be somewhat difficult but that ought not to impede us.
Every master starts off as a novice. We already have the prerequisites
needed to become a better reader.
Principles and tips for speed reading and to becoming a better reader.
Become smarter. – The key is to not only read quicker but to do it
smarter. The fact is that most of what is written isn’t that
important. What we’re after is the general idea. This means that
we don’t have to read every word in a paragraph. Instead of
eyeballing each letter we need to view sentences as chunks. Simply
by looking at them we’re able to figure out the meaning without
spelling out every syllable. If we’ve arrived at the essence of what
is being conveyed, we shouldn’t waste time and move on. To
become a better reader, we need to only comprehend what’s being
said, unless we’re doing it just for enjoyment.
This method consists of reading the book several times. It’s almost a
blend of some of the tips above. It’s separated into three distinctive
stages all of which increase comprehension in a different manner.
The first thing we need to do when picking up a book is to examine
it. This means looking at the title, cover, who’s the author, what’s
the topic and theme etc. If there’s something that we don’t
completely understand in the terminology it’s best we search for
its meaning before going any further.
Now that we’re informed ourselves with what the book’s about we
might have already made some conclusions of our own. If we’ve
come across the topic beforehand then we’ve already made some
conclusions of our own based on our past experiences. If, however,
it’s something completely new then we’ve gathered a brief
description of the theme. We can now start reading the book.
Once each chapter of interest has been gone through and the book
finished we can re-read it again. It enforces comprehension and
prevents us from forgetting about it. While reading I usually take
notes on some of the things that I consider to be the most
important. Occasionally I look at them as if picking up the book
again.
The third plane of reality is the spiritual one. This is the point in which
we can make the final leap in our development. It’s the point in which
we lift ourselves off the pyramid and begin to see the bigger picture.
When sóma and myaló, the body and mind, were concerned with
achieving enkratia, then the psychí, the soul, is about working towards
arête. It’s the virtuous perfection of excellence and magnificence that
will leave us in awe.
Master the Craft
It shows that a practitioner can master the craft of their choosing and
has reached expressions of it that are considered to be magnificent,
even of highest virtue.
That’s why talent is out of the equation. We think that Mozart was
innately gifted with supernatural ability to play the piano and compose
music but in reality it was just the result of constant practice and the
desire to improve. His genius wasn’t something he was born with but
was embedded within him by his environment and cultivated by his
habitual mode of being. It’s who he was and the craft made up his entire
life. As a result, he became one of the greatest artists of all time.
According to the 10 000 hour rule, if you practice something for 4 hours
a day it would take you almost 7 years to master the craft. What any
artist, writer or scientist can tell is that they get humbled by their
profession every time. Even after 20 000 hours of practice there’s still
room for improvement as complete mastery can never be attained.
At the same time, it’s the process itself that contributes to this. As the
apprentice develops to master the craft they begin to learn more about
who they are and mould themselves into being. During the act of
creation, the artist is in a conversation with their soul and translates
this dialogue into reality. It’s growth both internal and external, which
is the essence of life itself.
Sometimes it’s the craft that actually chooses the practitioner. More
often than not it’s what we already love to do and are good at. It’s the
result of doing something just for the sake of it and the enjoyment it
provides.
This freedom from the outcome enables oneself to set free their creative
side and let their thoughts flow. Only with no expectations and lack of
attachment can infinite potentiality be reached. Desire makes the
apprentice want to take something from the act and is forced. It
emphasizes this dichotomy between the two and will always prevent
oneness with the craft. Reaching mastery entails as much giving to the
profession as receiving from it, which is a lot more powerful.
Despite the fact that mastery is a lifelong quest of perfecting the craft
there are still a lot of steps along the way that show the practitioners
ability. They’re all similar in terms of the student teacher relationship
but distinctive in how much freedom and room for expression is
available.
It’s a linear progression but it doesn’t mean that once a certain stage
has been reached any decline can’t occur. Any comparisons are to be
discarded as well, because they’re all equal and always inferior to the
art, which is the ultimate master and whose expertise is out of this
world. The craft is as if an entity itself with perfect substance hailing
from Plato’s realm of forms and being manifested into this reality by the
artist.
You have to love it. Going on this lifelong journey filled with
hardship, effort and failure requires us to be obsessively possessed
by what we do. To master the craft, we need to be constantly
thinking about it, find ways to improve, never settle and
incorporate it into our mode of being. That’s why it’s important to
know whether or not you’re on the right path. Being passionate
about your art means that you can spend hours doing it without
feeling like you’re putting in any effort. It’s an active engagement
with something higher than ourself but at the same time is already
a part of us. The ultimate goal is to reach mastery but in reality
it’s the process itself that we enjoy the most.
To master the craft one has to actually get good at what they’re doing.
William Shakespeare was such an excellent playwright because he was
great at everything it included. He knew how to examine the world
around him, interpret his own perceptions, come up with creative ideas,
write up stories that would manifest his thoughts into reality and
convey it all into the minds of other people.
There isn’t only a single activity that contributes to this. It’s more like
a combination of certain acts that make up the craft. At this point we
can let our creativity flourish as it differs between everyone.
Getting good, then great, then excellent is the only way to master the
craft of our choosing. Progress is rarely linear but with peaks and
valleys. That’s the nature of things which doesn’t actually hinder overall
development.
I’ve stated that mastery is one of the best things to be striving towards.
Let me explain what it means to master the craft. What’s the point of it
and how will the practitioner’s life change.
Reach your truest potential. We’re all capable of a lot more than
we think. Even though mastery can never be completely attained
it still opens up a doorway to infinite potentiality. We can’t even
realize how vast this space is. There’s so much to improve upon
even for the adept and the learning never stops. If that’s the case,
then why bother? It’s the process itself that is significant. As we
undergo this everlasting Odyssey we bring more meaning into our
existence. It’s pathological by nature but a part of the circle of life.
Express your creativity. True art begins once you master the
craft. When you attain a certain level of adeptness you get more
freedom. Up until that point you’re shaping your skill and style.
The learning never stops but it gets less forced as you improve. As
an apprentice you try to stick to certain rules out of fear of failure.
Once these limitations have been transcended the strokes of the
brush begin to move with ease. That’s where the artist is flowing
alongside their activity.
In the actual agoge, the Spartans didn’t have any other choice but to be
excellent. Their behavior was force upon them and the result of
necessity. Those who failed to submit were either dead or slaves. As a
result, they became disciplined because there was no other way to
succeed.
However, there’s just one thing that we do have over the Spartans.
Despite being free men, they were almost slaves to their own system.
Discipline was force upon them and not something they chose
voluntarily. At the same time, they probably understood the necessity
and benefits of this trait. It’s what separates the great from the
mediocre, as only the successful are willing to do the things that most
people aren’t.
Discipline is freedom.
We all yearn for freedom. It is something that allows us to make our
own decisions, not be restricted to certain limitations, be able to express
ourselves completely, have the opportunity to choose and be in total
control of our life.
The only thing we need to do is recognize this ability and use it. We
simply have to choose to act differently and thus liberation will be
ours. Once that happens we get liberated from everything we thought
was holding us back and can therefore express our truest self.
This is also the point where most people fail because they are afraid to
make that decision or simply give up too soon. To overcome this flaw,
we need to have discipline.
Why is this so? The reason may lie in the fact that our conscious self and
the person we walk around in are in conflict with one another. We know
what we want, but cannot muster enough courage or strength to take
action.
That is why there is an inner conflict between the psyche and its
shadow. Our consciousness wants to expand and express infinite
potentiality but the ego will always try to prevent that from happening
in fear of losing itself. To do that, it creates a protective circle around
itself and does not want to conduct any change.
Doing what resonates with our true self and not being paralyzed by the
false beliefs of our ego is a skill worthy to have. We will be able to
recognize what goes on in our head on a habitual basis and also
influence this pattern to the degree where we will be able to take charge
of our life.
Discipline is freedom, but not only that, it will also enable us to take full
responsibility over our life. We can dictate our circumstance, the results
we get, despite our current situation or how we feel.
Acting against our own will might seem like too harsh, but in reality
that is only a conflict within our head between the ego and our conscious
self. What we are actually doing is manifesting our truest self and
overcoming the blindness of our ego.
Our actions will be contradictory to our feelings, but they reflect our
words. It is through action alone where we are defined and delineated.
To achieve freedom.
What we need to do is realize how much power we actually have. Simply
knowing it is not enough and we have to be willing to do what is
necessary for us to attain complete freedom. This entails us doing what
we want to accomplish despite the actual circumstances or how we feel.
We all have the possibility to have the life we want. It is not about
changing physical matter around us but instead more like being able to
go after our dreams and accomplish them.
What makes a man are his thoughts and actions, not the circumstances
he is in. Those two things are independent of the external world and
what truly belong to ourselves.
Discipline is not all about taking action when we do not feel like it. Most
importantly, it’s rising above the selfish motivations of our ego and
always being in control of our own life.
Most of the time we are run by our own subconscious thoughts and
emotions which will eventually begin to negatively impact everything
around us.
Discipline will enable us to control our own ego, leave it behind the door
and always be aware of what goes on inside of us. As a result, our true
conscious self will be able to shine through and manifest it into being
through action, regardless of the presence of turmoil. It takes discipline
to not let negative talk or self-pity creep in as it takes so little to do so
much damage.
Initially, the ego will struggle to maintain its throne but eventually the
fight will cease. Truth will always find its way and discipline is the
ultimate manifestation of that.
Once we have used enough discipline for long period of time we will
reach a point where we do not have to use it as much. The things we
have been trying to enforce have become a part of us and we are now
truly free.
That is why discipline is freedom. It is like an act of breaking free from
our inner prison and cutting loose the bonds of our ego. Doing so is
important just for the sake of it. We cannot let our subconscious mind
control us because that will prevent us from reaching our truest
potential.
In a way, it also wants the best for us but does not realize what it is
actually doing. It is like an overly protective mother who will never
allow her children to do anything because it sees danger in everything.
In order for them to fly they need to be thrown out of the nest so that
they would either spread their wings and fly or die. If it were left to the
ego, then the cliffs would be smeared with blood. Luckily, most of them
will survive and begin to glide beneath the clouds.
To prevent that we need to change who we are first and foremost, and
use discipline as a tool to conduct that change. This way we will not
develop a destructive battleground within us and will remain intact for
the long run. Life is a marathon with occasional sprinting. We have to
choose our fights wisely, because our resources are limited and we will
not be able to reach longevity, which is at the end of the day the ultimate
goal.
Only when we have the confidence in doing anything and can actually
do it have we reached a point where our true consciousness can express
itself with no limits.
After we have used enough discipline to break the shackles will we be
able to experience this. If there are still any limiting beliefs holding us
down, then we are not completely free.
It is just that with discipline we can cross the line between our comfort
and growth zone which will reveal to us what we are truly capable
of. Without acting against our own will and putting in the necessary
action we will never be able to do so.
Our mind will try to hold us down and not make our muscles obey
us. Discipline will set forth a chain reaction of events that will make us
accomplish anything. It starts with the decision of doing so. We can
choose what we are going to do. It will make those muscles contract.
Discipline is freedom.
Attain a Purpose
Lastly, it all comes down to bringing more meaning into our existence.
The Agoge is a discipline of improving our body and mind so that we
could become more conscious and happier as a person.
Herein come you and I into play. Keep practicing the principles of the
Agoge and work on cultivating your enkratia. Yearn for arête so that you
could bring more happiness into this world.
A rephrased quote of J.F. Kennedy: “Ask not what the world can do for
you; ask what you can do for the world.“
Give more than you take, as that’s the way towards higher levels of
consciousness.
And there we have it. We’ve finished the Body Mind Agoge – the book
that is, as the training and living is only about to start.
What now you might ask? Where should you go from here?
Well the most immediate thing you should do is start practicing these
strategies.
Start following optimal nutrition and try out the ketogenic diet.
Pick up resistance training to build muscle and gain strength.
Do minimum effective dosage HIIT to improve your cardiovascular
health and become over-fit like the Spartans.
Practice controlling your autonomic nervous system and
physiology with cold thermogenesis and breathing.
Face fear to slay the ego by mustering courageousness.
Become more mindful as a person by practicing Agoge meditation
daily.
Analyze your habits and adjust them according to your goals.
Seek out knowledge and wisdom so that you could understand
yourself and the world better.
Pursue towards mastery in both your body and mind and the craft
of your choosing.
Be disciplined in your conduit and have bravery in your heart.
Follow your calling and apply it to serving the whole of humanity.
There are definitely a lot more that could be added to this book.
However, that would make it too long. These are the most optimal
means I’ve found to improve upon our body and mind. Our
consciousness is infinite in potentiality and we can’t actually fully
comprehend its vastness.
Make sure to join the Body Mind Agoge Facebook group where you can
get support from other self-empowered beings. I’ll be able to share with
you even more wisdom and knowledge and so can you. Let’s meet in the
fray!
More Books from the Author
i
The Three Initiates and Atkinson, W.W. (1912). Kybalion: A Study of the Hermetic Philosophy of Ancient Egypt
and Greece. Devorss and CO (Txp).
ii
Kaku, M. (2014). The Future of the Mind: The Scientific Quest to Understand, Enhance, and
Empower the Mind. Doubleday, USA.
iii
Hagelin, J. (2007). ‘The Power of the Collective‘ in Shift: At The Frontiers of Consciousness,
No. 15 (June-August 2007), pp. 16-20.
iv
Hawkins, D.R. (1994). Power vs. Force: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior. Hay
House Inc., USA.
v
Jung, C.G., Read, H. (editor), Fordham, M. (editor) and Hull, R.F.C. (translator) (1969). The
Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious. Princeton University Press (NJ).
vi
Moore, R. L. and Gillette, D. (1991), King, Warrior, Magician, Lover: Rediscovering the Archetypes of
the Mature Masculine. Harper One.
vii
Dawkins, R. (1976), The Selfish Gene. Oxford University Press, USA.
viii
Strathern, M. (1992). After Nature: English Kinship in the Late Twentieth Century. Cambridge University Press.