Beyond the Warrior Stereotype

“Warrior” is a popular word these days. Everything is about becoming a warrior, finding the inner warrior, being a warrior woman, becoming the ultimate warrior, honoring our warriors. Yet what are we really talking about? Beyond some romantic notions does anyone know what a warrior is? Are warriors about battle, fighting, armor, weapons, offense, defense, killing, spitting blood, and so on. Is that what a warrior is? Here we are going to take a close look at what being a warrior really is, what is good about being a warrior and what is not so good. Hopefully we are going to clear up a lot of misconceptions and get the story straight. If you want to truly understand warriors then you are going to have to stretch your thinking into new terrain. You are going to have to go beyond simple concrete notions and understand that warriorness is not a thing, not a stereotype, not all those things depicted in movies and stories.

I believe it would be fair to say that our culture, our world is addicted to certain notions about what a warrior actually is. On this world we worship warriors and much pressure is placed upon our young to be warrior like, even when it is not in their best interest. Now that I have said some things that are surely likely to offend some and get me into trouble with others, let me say that there is nothing quite like a warrior when they are in their essence. In their highest form warriors are essential because they are part of the fabric of life that makes up the tapestry of our lives. There is no eliminating warriors, there is no ignoring them. They are a part of who we all are, however some among us have chosen the warrior role, chosen to specialize for the sake of learning what it means to be a warrior on this planet.

Some of you reading this may already have some information about warriors based on your study of the Personessence System. However this information here is not simply a review of what you have read already. Read on and you will be introduced to some knowledge that will be new for you, will inform you in a deeper way about the ways of the warrior and their position in our world.

First let me say that warriorness is a frequency in wave form that coalesces and condenses into physical reality through a person’s choice to play the warrior role for this set of lifetimes. To be more complete there are seven such frequencies that we can choose from, seven roles. We might call these seven rays of light that manifest into physical form. These seven frequencies together make up a whole or complete experience. Archetypally speaking these seven roles are warrior, king, artisan, sage, server, priest, and scholar. Because the physical universe is a hologram, each frequency is embedded in every other one. Therefore they cannot be divided up entirely into totally separate components. Each has all the others within it. However each one can display itself as that archetype that it is for the purpose of learning and expressing something about the universe that is unfolding within us and all around us.

In all parts of this universe there is warrior energy, king energy, artisan energy and so on. Naturally they look different depending on the environment they are to be found in. Earth is one such environment and thus on this planet the archetypes take on an earthly form. I will get to this in a moment. What I am saying here is that there are seven building blocks that allow consciousness to take sentient form everywhere in this physical universe. Each building block carries with it archetypal patterns that help support the whole. We can readily see this even in non sentient life forms, for example in a beehive where a community of bees live together in harmony and cooperation, where each type of bee has a role to play contributing to the total health and safety of the community. Some are warrior bees guarding the hive, fighting off the predators; some are artisan bees building the hive, some are server bees taking care of the eggs, there is a queen laying the eggs and so on. The human community is much like a beehive, we just haven’t noticed because we are too busy believing we are special and divorcing ourselves from nature.

Now let us look at how the seven rays of light take on sentient forms on earth. There are two main vehicles for sentient forms on this planet, simians and cetaceans. For our purposes here, I am going to focus only on the simians, the mammal species that we humans use as vehicles to get around on this planet. On an essence level we beings choose a vibrational wave to come into physical form. We arrive into these simian bodies already firmly ensconced into our archetype as one of the seven vibrational rays or roles. Thus some of us are born warriors, some kings, some artisans and so on. The choice of role does influence the formation and look of the physical body and so warriors are typically compact, muscular, coordinated and in a word appear as all “business.” Harrison Ford, Clint Eastwood, Carrie Fisher, Lucy Liu, Uma Thurman, Sharon Stone, Johnny Cash, Tim McGraw, Reba McEntire are all warriors just to name a few.

These role types constitute exact ratios so that for example warriors compose 25% of the total population of human beings: Kings are 1%, artisans are 25%, sages are 7%, servers are 27%, priests are 3%, and scholars are 12%. These ratios always remain the same no matter what the total size of the population is at any given time.

Because we have chosen simian life forms on this planet, we are able to be highly mobile creatures with opposable thumbs for building almost anything. This allows us to do things that we could not do if we were in other bodies for example plant, fish, or even dream bodies or gaseous bodies. Simians can walk, run, jump, and most importantly make and use tools to build great civilizations. Whales too are sentient but they do not build anything because they have no hands. Their experience is different. Because we humans can build things we can create phenomenally complex societies that allow us incomparable experiences not available in other locations around and throughout the physical universe. To understand what this means for warriors we must examine the nature of warriorness.

Warriors are the most physically oriented of all the roles. This is because warriors are so narrow focused and when they are in physical form they focus almost exclusively on being physical. They are action oriented and immensely enjoy accomplishing and being productive in a physical sense. Of all the seven types, warriors are the most competitive, the most adept at using physical force, the most interested in such activities as athletics, stalking, hunting, attacking, using force, fighting, strategy, tactics, mathematical analysis, business, policing, fire fighting, prosecuting, defending, organizing, operating on principle, sexuality, adventure sports, campaigning, understanding music, operating heavy machinery, and many other front line activities. Warriors like to be in in the front lines of any action because that is where they feel the most competent.

Warriors are often people of few words preferring action to verbiage and yet there are exceptions. Warriors like simple commands, assuming authority in areas of action, and they expect to be listened to. They are fond of using short commands like “Stand down” and “You will report in” and “Be here at 9 o’clock sharp. Warriors are not nuanced and tend toward blunt language and actions. While it is not true of all warriors many of them tend to burp, fart, and swear with abandon. They often don’t see the big picture because they are so myopically focused and they have to be reminded that there are alternatives. Most warriors’ eyes are close together to reflect the intense focus of a predator, like for example a hawk or lion. In mating rituals they are almost always the aggressor and lead the way.

Warriors like nothing more than to guard, protect, defend the village, patrol, and make sure no one can take the tribe or nation by surprise or attack with success. This carries through to the highly complex and abstract field of law. Most lawyers are warriors, both defenders and prosecutors.

Most merchants and masters of business are warriors. Most prostitutes and sex workers are warriors. Most exercise trainers, coaches, martial arts instructors, and yoga studio owners are warriors. Yes, there are exceptions. Many warriors who are coaches, fitness trainers, and martial arts instructors tend to espouse the “no pain no gain” philosophy and actually end up hurting their clientele. The older the soul the warrior, the less they push and the better they teach.

Warriors display a great deal of masculinity even when they are females. They however are often the ones considered the most sexy to others, the most seductive, the most dangerous in this regard. In a word they have an animal magnetism that the other roles do not have.

Warriors love their weapons. They handle their knives, swords, and their guns with deep reverence. Nothing is quite so beautiful to many warriors than a finely crafted sword or gun, especially one that has been built to exacting standards and may perhaps have been decorated with the finest engravings. Think samurai sword here. No wonder the gun lobby is so strong. Just try taking a warrior’s weapons away. Only a few older soul warriors would release them voluntarily.

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Warriors tend to like to give the appearance of being dangerous, tough, menacing, or not to be messed with under any circumstances. Think Clint Eastwood here. Their stance is often “Don’t F—with me.” On the other hand they love to explain things to others in a crisp, organized way making them good teachers and leaders when they are not be too aggressive or too oppressive.

Because of having simian bodies warriors have thrived on this planet and have assumed leadership in a great many areas, business, military, sports, law, fitness, energy production, and so on. The entire military industrial complex is balanced on the shoulders of warriors. It was their idea. This has given the twenty five percent of the population that are warriors inordinate influence and power on this planet. In other words they not only run the show but they imprint almost everyone with their values, their style, their approach. So most children no matter what their actual role are expected to be warrior like, defend themselves from bullys, be highly competitive, excel at sports, and be especially good at making money. Obviously most young people cannot comply and therefore often feel like failures. Since warriors are more aggressive than their counterparts they often get the boy or girl, take the awards for achievement, and clean up at sports. So everyone wants to be a warrior but that is not what everyone is good at. That is why there are six other ways of being, each one just as valid and legitimate.

There are pockets on this planet where the other six types tend to dominate. An example would be Bali, where artisans predominate and warriors are not in charge. Iceland is a land of kings and scholars, and of course Vatican City is a land of priests.

Approximately twelve and one half percent of the warriors on this planet are younger souls and they are the ones who are the most ruthless and literally dominate the planet. The other twelve and one half percent are either mature or old souls and therefore are more reasonable in their approach and more inclined to be in their positive poles more often. Their reputation is often dragged down by the dominance of the younger soul crowd.

The Evolution Of A Warrior.

Infant: First a warrior arrives fully armored, bristling with weapons of every type. They invade, intrude, take over, rape and pillage, and kill the competition. They are only 5% of all warriors.

Toddler or baby soul: They demand that everyone believe what they do and they enforce this with the threat of death. These warriors are hard core, do not think for themselves, only follow orders, are extremely fundamentalist, are exceptionally dangerous, and can be very abusive. People would rather kill themselves than fall into their hands. They are about 20% of all warriors.

Child or young soul: These warriors dominate the world financially through winner take all vicious business practices. They are power hungry, controlling, raise armies, and take what they desire. They run the world right now. They are 24% of all warriors.

Young adult or mature soul: These warriors develop a conscience, seek to defend the downtrodden and innocent, and fight for causes such as ecology, poverty, freedom of choice and so on. These warriors suffer a great deal because their conscience will not let them use the tactics and strategies that they relied on in prior campaigns. They often suffer at the hands of those who are still ruthless. These warriors make great sacrifices. They still may not communicate well but their hearts are beginning to open. They are willing to set down their armor, perhaps even their shields, but maybe not their swords. They can be quite helpful in terms of planetary change. They are about 36% of all warriors.

Adult or old soul: These warriors are wise veterans and will seek any kind of peaceful solution rather than using violence or aggression. They have already been to war and know there are no viable solutions there. They are strong but kind and have big hearts. They are actually quite vulnerable beneath a tough façade. Old warriors are teddy bears and very lovable. After disposing of their armor and shield, they put down their swords, open their chests and spread their arms wide. No need for props anymore. They know who they are and are not afraid any more. They compose about 15% of all warriors. These are the ones that are desperately needed right now to help shift the planet away from a destructive course.

There are numerous places in the universe where warriors exist but do not necessarily dominate in other locations because of body type selection. On earth they need help to temper their aggressive and even abusive ways, to stand down, to turn their swords into ploughshares so to speak. They have been allowed to run rampant and now it is time to say no more. They need limits and boundaries on their behavior and encouragement to lead in peaceful ways. They hate being told what to do but they do follow the orders of a respected leader and they are very loyal.

Warriors can be good teachers for those who need to develop their own inner warrior, to have good boundaries, to be able to ask for what they need or want. If you need this kind of training, especially if you are a woman, you do not need a young soul warrior showing you the way. You need an older soul warrior teacher.

Do we honor our warriors for fighting in stupid wars chosen by young warriors? This is a very tough question. Yes, we need to show respect for those who have been terribly injured physically, mentally, and emotionally. They need tremendous help. We should never abandon anyone. Should we honor what they have done? That depends. In a larger context perhaps we don’t need to hold these soldiers and veterans up as role models for our young anymore. After all, in many cases they have been misled into thinking that killing and destroying is honorable. Often ruthless politicians have just seduced them into serving the military industrial complex. Terrorism will collapse on its own. In most cases military intervention has just made terrorism that much worse. This is hard for the nation to admit but the facts bear it out. This is not a warrior speaking here. I represent another point of view equally legitimate. I believe there is no more need to threaten, posture, fight, and struggle as these ways are all misguided.

I love my warrior friends and admire them. They are after all a part of me. I have learned a great deal from them and about them. At times I have relied on them to help me out in important ways. Many of my teachers and healers have been wise warriors and I bless them up and down.

Just as I no longer want to behave badly myself I no longer want warriors to behave badly in my name. Ultimately human society is based on peer pressure. People do what we tolerate them to do. It is time to clarify our boundaries. It is time to say no to what is not acceptable behavior any longer. Warriors respect people with strong boundaries. Warriors respect someone who stands up to them and says no you can’t do that. Arguing with a warrior is never a good idea, as you will lose most of the time. Don’t argue. Just keep saying how it is going to be from now on. Always give a warrior a way out. Always give them a way to save face. Saving face is a warrior idea. Whenever possible let them voluntarily surrender their position with honor. They need to know they are loved, respected, honored even if they have perhaps made poor decisions. They need to be redirected toward their hearts at this important juncture in our world’s journey toward the future. And if they should stubbornly refuse, we bless them and forge ahead anyway. Many Blessings, from a scholar’s perspective.

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José Stevens

José Luis Stevens, PhD is the president and co-founder (with wife Lena) of Power Path Seminars, an international school and consulting firm dedicated to the study and application of shamanism and indigenous wisdom to business and everyday life. José completed a ten-year apprenticeship with a Huichol (Wixarika) Maracame (Huichol shaman) in the Sierras of Central Mexico. In addition, he is studying with Shipibo shamans in the Peruvian Amazon and with Paqos (shamans) in the Andes in Peru. In 1983 he completed his doctoral dissertation at the California Institute of Integral Studies focusing on the interface between shamanism and western psychological counseling. Since then, he has studied cross-cultural shamanism around the world to distill the core elements of shamanic healing and practice. He is the author of twenty books and numerous articles including Encounters With Power, Awaken The Inner Shaman, The Power Path, Secrets of Shamanism, Transforming Your Dragons and How To Pray The Shaman’s Way.