Episode #41 - The War Of Art By Steven Pressfield

Hello, Self Developers and welcome to The Patrick Kelly Podcast for Self-Development, where I will be reviewing  audible books on Self-Development that can change your life for the better this year, and years to come. It is said that if we keep on doing what we always did, we will keep on getting what we always got. In other words, to change our output, we first have to change our input.

Today is October 24, 2021, and This is Episode 41, and today, we will be reviewing the Audible Book, “The War Of Art” By Steven Pressfield. This audible book will teach you how to break through your inner creative battles.

Book One: Defining The Enemy: Resistance is the Enemy. The Dalai Lama once said that The Enemy is a very good Teacher. Resistance cannot be seen, touched, heard or smelled, but it can be felt. Resistance is an energy field radiating from a working potential. It is a repelling force. It is negative. It’s aim is to distract us away and prevent us from doing our work. Resistance is internal. Resistance is the Enemy within. Resistance will tell you anything, to keep you from doing your work. Resistance will take on any form in order to deceive you. It will pledge anything to get a deal and then double cross you as soon as your back is turned. Resistance is always lying and always full of shite. Resistance only respects power. Resistance exists in order to stop us from doing. The more important a call or action is to our Soul’s evolution, the more resistance we will feel toward pursuing it. Resistance is universal. We are wrong if we ever think that resistance is only our problem, and not a problem that everyone in the World has to deal with.  Resistance never sleeps. The battle must be fought a new each and every day. Resistance is fueled by fear. When we master fear, we conquer resistance. Resistance and Procrastination. Procrastination is the most common manifestation of resistance because it is the easiest to rationalize. The opposite of love is not hate. It is indifference. The more resistance you experience, the more important your unmanifested art, project, enterprise, is to you and the more gratification you will feel, when you finally do it. Resistance can be beaten. If resistance could not be beaten, there would be no music created and no bridges built.  

Book Two: Combating Resistance: Turning Pro: All of us are Pros in one area. Our jobs. We get a paycheck. We work for money. We are Professionals. Resistance knows that the Amateur Composer will never write His symphony, because He is overly invested in its success, and over terrified of it’s failure. The Amateur takes it so seriously that it paralyzes him. The Professional even though He accepts money, He does his work out of love. The Professional masters how and leaves what and why to the Gods. A Professional acts in the face of fear. The Professional knows that fear can never be overcome. He knows that there is no such thing as a fearless Warrior. A Professional accepts no excuses. The Professional knows that if He caves in today, the more likely that, He will cave in tomorrow. The Professional does not let others define his reality. The Professional conducts his business in the real world. A Professional is prepared. A Professional reinvents himself. A Professional is recognized by other Professionals. The Professional dedicates himself to mastering technique. The Professional respects his craft. The Professional dedicates himself to mastering technique, not because He believes technique is a substitute for inspiration, but because He wants to be in possession, of the full arsenal of skills when inspiration does come. The Professional is sly. He knows that by toiling beside the front door of technique, He leaves room for genius to enter by the back. A Professional does not hesitate to ask for help. The Professional cannot take rejection personally, because to do so, reinforces resistance. Resistance is and will always be the Enemy.  

Book Three: Beyond Resistance: The Higher Realm: As Resistance works  to  keep  us  from  becoming  who  we  were  born   to  be,  equal   and   opposite  powers   are   counter-poised  against  it. Just  as  Resistance  has  its  seat  in  hell,  so  Creation  has  its  home  in  heaven. Angels  make   their   home  in  the  Self,  while  Resistance  has  its  seat  in  the Ego. The  fight  is  between  the  two.  The  Self wishes  to  create,  to  evolve.  The Ego likes things just  the  way  they  are.  What is the Ego, anyway?  The  Ego  is  that  part  of  the  psyche  that  believes  in  material  existence.  The Ego’s job is to take care  of business in  the  real world. It’s an important job.  We couldn’t last a  day  without  it.  But there  are  worlds  other  than  the  real  world,  and  this  is  where  the  Ego  runs  into  trouble. the Ego believes: 1. Death   is   real.  The  Ego  believes   that  our  existence  is  defined  by  our  physical  flesh.  When the body dies,  we  die.  There is no  life  beyond  life. 2. Time and  space  are  real.  The  Ego  is  analog.  It  believes  that to  get  from A  to  Z  we have to pass through  B, & C,.  Every  individual    is    different    and   separate   from    every    other.  The  Ego  believes  that  I  am  distinct  from  you. These  are  the  principles  the Ego  lives  by. The  Self  believes: 

1) Death    is   an   illusion.  The   soul   endures   and   evolves   through   infinite   manifestations.  

2) Time   and  space   are   illusions.   Time  and  space  operate  only  in  the  physical  sphere,  and  even  here,  don't  apply  to  dreams,  visions,  transports.  In  other  dimensions  we  move   "swift   as  thought"   and   inhabit   multiple   planes   simultaneously.

3) All  beings  are  one.  If  I  hurt  you,  I  hurt  myself. 

4) The    supreme    emotion    is    love.    Union    and    mutual   assistance  are  the  imperatives  of  life.  We  are  all  in  this   together.  

5)  God is all there is.  Everything that is, is God in  one  form  or  another. The Ego  hates  the  Self  because  when  we  seat  our  consciousness in  the  Self, we  put  the Ego  out of business. The  Ego  produces  Resistance   and attacks   the   awakening   Artist.   Resistance  feeds  on  fear.  We  experience  Resistance  as  fear.  The  Enemy  of  the  Artist  is  the  small-time  Ego,  which begets  Resistance.

Closing Thoughts: On scale of 1 to 5, I would give this audible book, a 4, for providing detailed instructions on how to fight resistance and break through your inner creative battles.

*To find out more about this audible book, Go To: www.audible.com and download this audible book, or go to www.stevenpressfield.com to find out more information about the Author.

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