Dear Reader:

Mindfulness as a meditation therapy has become commonplace in the world of modern psychotherapy, especially as a method of dealing with stress, anxiety, and depression. It is because Mindfulness has already proven to be of great clinical use that it is inspiring more interest in the field of mental therapy. "Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction" or "MBSR," for example, is an anti-stress treatment program found in almost all major medical centers, medical schools and hospitals across the United States.

This recent popularity is perhaps a novelty in our (Western) culture, but mental techniques of self-control referred to as "Mindfulness" that derive from yoga, Hinduism, and Buddhism were already adopted and adapted hundreds of years ago by disciplines we have come to know as the East Asian martial arts.

The ancient warrior disciplines quickly discovered the great usefulness that control over the mind and cultivation of the spirit presented the warrior in the fulfillment of his martial duties. This is how the martial arts – each within their corresponding philosophical, strategic, psychological, and spiritual context – incorporated, adapted, and perfected (during thousands of years) the simultaneous cultivation of mental discipline, spiritual depth, and physical prowess, thus giving rise to the archetype of "The Enlightened Warrior." Despite the immense cultural, religious, or technical, etc. differences, and across the innumerable variations of the warrior traditions of the Far East, the result of this unique combination of martial knowledge, mental control, and spiritual development was the creation of an individual capable of expressing a great deal of inner peace and harmony, whether on the battlefield engaged in a life-and-death assault, or in the composition of poetry at the appreciation of a sunset.

Although devoid of the life-and-death drama of the battlefield, modern-day living is nonetheless replete with stressful activities and traumatic experiences that express themselves adversely in our mental and physical health. Drug-addiction, alcohol abuse, neuroses, domestic violence, respiratory ailments (such as asthma), obesity, anxiety, depression, PTSD, etc., are just some of the pathological symptoms of a modern lifestyle. Therein lies the interest that Mindfulness creates in XXI century psychotherapy, and herein lies the great significance and value of our Mind of the Enlightened Warrior  seminar-workshops.

MAMBA Mindfulness is a much more structured and intense version of what is commonly taught as Mindfulness. Largely due to the fact that it is a component of the martialist paradigm MAMBA-Ryu, the ultimate objective of MAMBA Mindfulness – the development of super-consciousness – is much more present than in other typical Mindfulness programs. Generally speaking, these programs consist of a series of basic exercises, breathing or meditative, practiced in a very static or clam manner – removed from the turmoil of daily activities. Mindfulness programs that are more advanced apply the principles of Mindfulness to the management of mental processes in motion, such as walking or eating. Yet these programs rarely extend the principles of Mindfulness to the real world. Of course, meditation in and of itself is important; it offers the mind and the body a period of refuge – a space and time in which one can break from the stresses of life. However, MAMBA Mindfulness, which is the essence of the Mind of the Enlightened Warrior program, is much more intensive and extensive, much more dynamic and strategic: its fundamental objective is arming the student with the necessary weapons to deal with trauma, tragedy, and the general catastrophes that all-too-often characterize our daily lives.

Offered in both English and Spanish, the purpose of the Mind of the Enlightened Warrior  program (which is incidentally a requirement for all who wish to partake of our Black Mamba martial art program) is to offer the participant an exclusive opportunity to benefit from the techniques and strategies of the martial master in order to embark upon a life of inner peace even when faced with the adversities of modern living. During our seminar-workshops the student not only learns to apply the mental techniques and strategies of MAMBA Mindfulness, but also learns to incorporate them in all aspects of their life in a manner that will set them well on the path of "The Enlightened Warrior."

Regardless of your profession, your age, or your gender, if you are a human being and therefore equipped with a "mind," you will find this series of seminar-workshops to be of great interest and value.

 

Until that time,

 

Shodai (Master Founder) James A. G. Overton

www.mindofthewarrior.com