Towards the end of January 2010 I set off from home to go on a vision quest up Mt Warning and tune into what it was I really want to do for the coming year. But I never made it!
Driving to the base of the mountain I was unusually aware of the land and forest I was passing through. I was simply enjoying what I could see with my eyes – the colours, the forms, the light. I was also aware that my body was moving through what I was seeing. As I sat in the drivers seat of the car I felt the continual forward momentum of my body, propelled within the car. As I drove up the road that climbed to the base of the mountain I suddenly felt to stop and get out of the car and continue moving on foot. I jumped out of the car threw the keys behind the wheel and immediately headed for the privacy of the nearest creek bed and began moving over the rocks. Suddenly i was in bliss and a whole “mindfulness movement form” started unfolding within me. I just followed, feeling like the first student in a new form. It was as if many elements and wishes in my life were suddenly coming together and connecting like pieces of a puzzle.
The main pieces are:
– For the past 15 years I have loved moving my body. Firstly training as an acrobat, then pursuing my passion for dance and free movement. I loved sport and physical challenge when I was younger and still feel great when my blood is pumping, my muscles working and the endorphins are flowing.
– I saw the film Avatar and beside from really liking it and being moved by it’s story etc… I found myself feeling deeply sad and emotional. I realised I longed to be a warrior in a natural world – able to move, run, climb, jump, fly. Connected and with a sense of belonging. I lamented that modern society hadn’t given me that experience.
– in early 2009 I saw a documentary on the founders of the urban practice of ‘Parkour’. These guys are masters of moving in urban landscapes, jumping from building to building, scaling walls, railings, balconies, overcoming obstacles with maximum speed and efficiency. One thing that impressed me most about the practise was the movement principle of always moving forward. I started experimenting with this principle and began to see it as the basis of Warrior energy and awareness.
-In the early 1990’s I was an environmental activist and loved participating in the Deep Ecology workshops where us humans took time to focus on and deeply connect with plants, animals and the elements, feeling our interconnectedness… I experienced this process as joyous, awakening and somehow having a deeply healing effect on the psyche.
– In 1992 I spent over 3 months in continual meditation practice in a monastery in Southern Thailand, which included walking meditations and continual mindfulness practice. I found it helped me live a more useful and aware life.
– For some time I have been wanting a forum to connect with other men. I am married and have 3 children. My relationship is a constant experience of growth and evolution and regularly has me facing my concepts of myself and of masculinity.
– I have spent time with and been inspired by indigenous people – the Dayak people in Central Borneo and the Aboriginal people in Maningrida in Arhnem Land. I especially like the way they move, it speaks volumes of the inner and outer world they experience.
So that day along the creek on Mt Warning these elements, plus some divine inspiration, combined to create a form that combines. Mindfulness, Movement, Deep Ecology, Fitness, and connecting with Men.
I have been training and following this form since January. It has been transformational, empowering, liberating, soothing, awakening, challenging, fun and exciting. My intention and purpose for my own training is to be a better man, a better husband, a better father, a better member of the community, a better member of the planet. (For me ‘better’ means more present, aware, conscious, passionate, courageous, honest and compassionate.) My main interest is to let what I experience in the Training develop my knowledge of myself and positively influence my relationships and the choices I make in my life.
I am now sharing the practice with other men. I see myself simply as a guide for the Training and a fellow student.
Nature Warrior 