The Laws of Spirit: A Tale of Transformation

By Dan Millman

According to author Dan Millman, the most important section in his best-selling book The Life You Were Born to Live was titled: " Laws that Change Lives" - keys to overcoming specific hurdles on each individual's life path.  Different laws played critical roles for different paths.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Peaceful Warrior ePublishing
• Release date: Jun 15, 2010
• ISBN: 9780982428542

Dan Millman

Dan Millman, a former world-champion athlete and college professor, is the author of numerous books, including Way of the Peaceful Warrior, Wisdom of the Peaceful Warrior, The Life You Were Born to Live, The Laws of Spirit, and The Journeys of Socrates. His writings have inspired millions of readers in more than thirty languages. Dan teaches worldwide, sharing realistic ways to live with a peaceful heart and warrior spirit, transforming everyday life into a path of personal and spiritual growth. His work has influenced men and women from all walks of life, including leaders in the fields of health, psychology, education, business, politics, entertainment, sports, and the arts. Dan and his family reside in Northern California.

Book preview

Preface

We cannot teach people anything;

we can only help them discover it

within themselves.

Galileo Galilei

What are the most important principles for living you’ve learned? Some years ago, I asked myself this question. Since then, time and experience have provided answers and insights leading to The Laws of Spirit.

This is not the first time I’ve written about spiritual laws: In Way of the Peaceful Warrior, Socrates refers to the laws of Spirit when he answers my questions with a shrug, saying, It’s the House Rules. Body Mind Mastery introduces natural laws leading to improved confidence and capacity in sports and fitness training; No Ordinary Moments outlines universal principles to improve the quality of daily life; and finally, The Life You Were Born to Live reveals how to clarify the core issues of your own life path then presents specific laws to overcome hurdles on that path.

Whether or not you are familiar with my other books or with writings on spiritual laws, I believe you will find the principles in this book especially clear and impactful—maybe even transformative.

All journeys are true, but not all are factual. In The Laws of Spirit I present deeper truths in fictional form through conversations and experiences with a mountain sage—a woman of extraordinary wisdom and grace who teaches through vivid imagery from the natural world.

Unlike my previous, full-length spiritual adventures, this book more closely resembles a parable than a true novel. About this I make no pretense. Instead of multi-level plot and character development, or the conflict that lies at the heart of drama, you’ll find a narrative journey designed to conveys simple yet powerful truths that make life work.

So I invite you to travel at my side as we’re guided up the mountain path. The climb won’t always be easy, but as we ascend, the sage shares in the most effective ways I’ve found, the most illuminating laws we’re destined to master on the winding paths of life.

These laws of Spirit belong to each and all of us. They are found within our own hearts and in the heart of every religion, culture, and moral system. By generating a profound sense of meaning and connection, they have expanded my perspectives and provided leverage to change the course of my life. I hope and trust they will do the same for you.

Dan Millman

Introduction

Meeting With a Mountain Sage

We sit together,

the mountain and me,

until only the mountain remains.

LiPo

Over the years, for health and enjoyment, I have often hiked up into the wilderness near my home, up the narrow deer trails and down forested hillsides covered with oak, pine, and manzanita—wandering as impulse has taken me along the rolling hills and mountains leading to the coast.

On one such occasion, some years ago, when my family was away for the weekend, I rose before dawn and set out without a plan except to climb at leisure and explore new and unfamiliar country. The mountains, no more than a few thousand feet high, still had enough rises and dips to lose sight of civilization, evoking a sense of mystery and wonder as I imagined myself a hundred miles from anywhere.

On this morning, low clouds had drifted in from the coast to settle over the wilderness, and after I had hiked up some distance, I found myself in a fold between the hills, enveloped in a fog so thick I could see no more than a few feet ahead. The air became cold and still, and I soon lost any sense of direction. Hearing a stream somewhere below, I kept it behind me, thinking I might climb up out of this shrouded place.

Before long, I came to a plateau nestled beneath some ancient oaks, just above a steep drop-off. I had, quite by accident, approached the plateau from the only possible angle—a narrow path between a wall of boulders. As I climbed around one of the massive stones, the fog disappeared to reveal a tiny hut standing before me.

I approached the hut and, for no reason I could discern, goose bumps appeared on my arms as I tapped lightly on the door.

To my surprise, a resonant voice rang out with unexpected warmth, as if I were a long-awaited guest: Do come in, Traveler, come in! And so, wandering off the beaten path of my life, I opened the door and found the sage, sitting quietly, smiling up at me.

She was dressed in a tunic of green. Maybe she thinks she’s in Sherwood Forest, I thought. As this idea passed through my mind, I began to feel oddly disoriented, as if I had lost my own bearings in time as well as space: I could have been in a primeval rain forest, lost on a hillside in Shakespeare’s England, in the Scottish highlands, or in a mountain abode of the Chinese immortals.

Her eyes held my attention—almond eyes, they were, hazel colored, illumined by rays of sunlight shining through a crack in the wall—eyes set like jewels in a face of smooth olive skin, crowned by short brown hair that gave no clear sign of her age, race, or culture. She seemed to be surrounded by a bright field of energy, but it might have been a trick of the light.

She sat erect yet relaxed, with a feline grace, upon a cushion of leaves on the earthen floor. A long time since I’ve had a visitor, she said. I’m glad you have come, for the time feels long overdue, and I have much to share. I need your assistance in a mission of great importance.

Was she lost? Did she need a guide? Or was she merely eccentric? Puzzled but intrigued, I only said, That sounds interesting.

I believe you’ll find it so, she replied. But first you’ll need some training, to prepare you.

This took me by surprise. If this is going to take more than a couple of hours, I’m not sure I have the time.

You have both less and more time than you imagine, she said—a strange response. Judging her odd but harmless enough, I decided to play along and see where this led. She gestured for me to sit down. Make yourself comfortable, Traveler; I know why you have come and that you have journeyed far.

I was about to tell her that we were only an hour’s hike from my home; then I sensed that she was referring not to my morning’s walk, but to the long and winding path of my life.

The next instant, with a shock, countless images flashed through my awareness—images from many different times and cultures. I had the strangest sense that they were connected with her. Then doubt entered my mind: Surely, I thought, she’s just a reclusive woman and I, a romantic, am weaving an adventure where there is none.

Who are you? I asked.

A reflection in a quiet pond, she said—"a ray of moonlight on a dark night, as young as the morning dew and as old as the Earth.

[rapi rmz · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wonderful ;) I love it!! It's the great book at the last year's. Please reading don't lost the opportunity :)

[Mau Tachi · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book looks at how we can improve our lives to transform ourselves to be happier and knowing that certain things are beyond our control but how acceptance will make them easier to undergo. However, to digest more - need to reread to understand more fully.

[steve cross · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Transformative and practical.
Each chapter gives immediate benefits for health, well-being and efficiency.

[Melanie Moore · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was a wonderful book to read. I definitely felt a connection and I am vey inspired. This is a book I am going to read again.

[Edwina Smith · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Love this author and really like this book. It’s definitely mind blowing

[gulcin · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A great summary of the practical principals to apply in everyday's life. I couldnt help but notice the tone of the Paulo Coelho in this book yet with less drama. The author gets to the point without the necessity of artistic language. Even though I prefer a more elaborate language when it comes to inspirational books (like Rumi s verses) about life, I quite enjoyed this book and hopefully will be benefiting from what I ve read for the rest of my life.

[natashaphoenix · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Beautiful book on transforming your life from the inside out and allowing truth to reign in our lives. All of the answers we need to life's complexities are found by going within and connecting to nature.