Being more WARLIKE

[esoteric]

Accept self-importance, that nobody may wound your ego.

Don't you mean accept our unimportance?

[Conservationist]

Accept self-importance, that nobody may wound your ego.

Don't you mean accept our unimportance?

Both. You're only important to yourself, and what makes you important is inside, not outside. You don't depend on their good judgment to like yourself, so don't worry about their bad judgment.

Also, the point you're making: total nihilism. Nothing matters, but we have a chance to make beautiful things in this little slice of life.

This topic is my favorite to come from this board in ages. I wish I'd thought of it. Well, it's good to have ways to improve, outside of the stuff I know I suck at completely (laundry, dancing, French, shopping).

[Transcix]

Accept self-importance, that nobody may wound your ego.

Don't you mean accept our unimportance?

Conservationist explained well one possible interpretation of what I was saying. The other interpretation would be to consider self-importance as implying unhealthy excessiveness of pride, in which case to accept it is to let it pass and work to fix your inner lacking of self-esteem whereas to deny it is to turn a blind eye to your inner lacking of self-esteem and prop yourself up extraneously to affirm the illusion the lack does not exist.

All that stuff about being disinterested and dissolving into nothingness, yeah I'm familiar with that path. I'm not fond of it personally, although I do recognize it as a legitimate vector for someone of a different orientation than I. But the reason I didn't mention it here is because I do not think it is a warrior-like path.

[Devamitra]

As surprising as it is, the way of the warrior can be recognized in Jesus' message to mankind: turn the other cheek.

Delete self pity. Vanquish self importance. Shut up. Don't react. Get out. Act.

[Cargést]

"Turn the other cheek" was an instruction to slaves/servants to turn their left cheeks towards their masters when they were to be hit.  This would force the master either to strike the servant/slave with his right hand, thus recognising him as an equal, or use a weaker, more cumbersome backhand strike with the left hand.  The result is good for the servant/slave, bad for the master.

[Umbrage]

When you're in a battle facing an enemy army and some of them run away, let them run. You only waste time and energy chasing after them. Instead focus on what remains of their army.

The same goes with debate. If you disagree with people over little things and find yourself squabbling endlessly with them over it then ignore them and focus on the big discussion again. Just the fact that they are focusing on little details proves they have lost already anyway.

(Read that back in two weeks and you might be able to see it in a different context than you do now.)

[Conservationist]

"Turn the other cheek" was an instruction to slaves/servants to turn their left cheeks towards their masters when they were to be hit.  This would force the master either to strike the servant/slave with his right hand, thus recognising him as an equal, or use a weaker, more cumbersome backhand strike with the left hand.  The result is good for the servant/slave, bad for the master.

This is why anal subjugation is preferable: they can't force a reach-around.

[Jim Necroslaughter]

Thread Summary:

Part of my rationale for making this thread about being warlike in an EVERYDAY sense is because, generally speaking, people ARE so averse to war and it commonly has a negative connotation.  We should be more comfortable with being warlike.  What better way than to live it day in and day out?  If war is an apt metaphor for life, then we DO need to be warlike EVERYDAY.
   
There is more to war than just the actual battle.  There is preparation, training, and strategy.  Not to mention the aftermath, and burying and honoring the dead.  War should be SACRED.

For prospective warriors:  the practical adivce offered in this thread is to become more and more disciplined, vigilant, and assertive.  Being warlike was also associated with nobility, chivalry, and even mercy in this thread.  I think there is something to this.  It offers us a look at the more "refined" aspects of war and life-as-war.  There is a certain artistry or showmanship to war.  Honor between opposing warriors should be valued and encouraged.  There is even a practical side to showing mercy - let a few survivors live and instruct them:  "tell everyone what you saw here today."  Your reputation and power will grow simply by word-of-mouth

[Jim Necroslaughter]

Thread Summary:  Listen to Thousand Swords!!!

[Erebus]

Just fuckin' go to war.

Conquer and defend by all means, even when it costs great sacrifices. Always think before acting, but do not waste much time. That's it.

[istaros]

Wage war against irrelevance, too - know the difference between taking necessary actions, and emotional masturbation. That is to say, know what to forgive, and when.

[Nightspirit]

Also, the point you're making: total nihilism. Nothing matters, but we have a chance to make beautiful things in this little slice of life.

With that being said, I think there's something to be considered.

Maintaining your self (internally and externally) in the face of others. Being "iron-bound" so to speak is very admirable, but I've seen people fall into the trap of being too static after a while and closed off to too many possibilities. For a practical example consider a person who's become accustomed to following DLA suggestions, always finding the reviews, house suggestions and interviews helpful and fulfilling as far as their metal diet is concerned. That person also is considerably disapointed in every instance that someone unaffiliated with DLA, ANUS, Hessian.org and so on makes a musical suggestion. I agree that discrimination is good, but it can become habitual in the unwanted way. Cro-Mags and Amebix are newer additions to the reviews of legendary status. Imagine a skinhead or a crust punk speaking the dead honest truth about the magnitude of AoQ or Arise. I've known a writer for heidenlarm (spell?) that suffered from unfortunate nature of being too closed off in this way (not publically, but definately in private/personal conversation). It doesn't just have to be about metal, this can translate into anything. So in the spirit of what Conservationist defined as total nihilism, there is a level of human dynamism that must be accessed and explored in order to not become a fleshy relic... and into my my suggestions of how to be more warlike in light of this: venture into the unknown constantly like the Hessians of olde at the record store without the advantage of myspace, mp3 samples and youtube. I am pretty iron bound as it, but I also do my own private exploration constantly, discarding the bad and promoting the good in all areas of the arts, dining and thought.

[Examiner]

To me, being warlike is different from the militaristic definitions given here. I would say its closer to being barbaric survivalism.  War and violence has existed far The Roman Empire and the codes of honor and nobility.

[Saif al-Malik]

Here is another tip: Fighting Your Soul.  It is as required as the other forms are.

http://www.sunnah.org/tasawwuf/jihad001.html
http://mac.abc.se/~onesr/f/Jiihad_al-Nafs_Spir.Strivg.html