Spiritual Warriorship and the Undefended Life (Nachama Greenwald)

A defended life is defined by survival, overreactivity, the drive to territorialize and control, to dominate and always be right, which has a cost in that we live in a narrow and confined range of experience and perception. When we relax our defenses, a sense of awe and reverence for life can arise. We are often defended not only from the outer world but also from the inner world of our own feeling. When we are undefended, there is fluidity, flexibility, creativity, and a greater intimacy with reality which allows room for life to touch us. We also need intelligence and discrimination about vulnerability. Impermanence informs a warrior’s life and action. To be a warrior requires courage to live a fully embodied life, to feel fully with an open heart. A warrior cultivates the ability to let go. Nachama is a physical therapist, editor, and musician who for seventeen years was a member of the Shri blues band which performed Western Baul music.