Always On

I have heard it said that a true warrior must be "on" all the time to be prepared for any and all threats. This is one of those legends or stories that gets around and results in advertisement bits to draw in customers. I can emphatically say that this does not work. I can say this from experience. The experience is trivial compared to those who actually work and live in threat conditions.

We have threat-conditions or threatcons in our military readiness system dependent on any given situation in the world. The lower the threatcon number the greater the risk. There is a reason we have these levels much like the countries home land security threat colors. The countries military and homeland security know that to remain on high alert all the time is a killer - killer of us, not the threat.

I find that I am or have been on a higher alert mode for a time now. It is not combat as we have in street life or military life. It is one that many might not recognize as a always-on situation. Recently I have recognized a threat that comes when I am at my most vulnerable and in my most secure location. I kept wondering why I am so mentally and physically tired. Why I felt certain psychological things with no apparent reasons until I read something that literally woke me up to my condition.

Then I understood that the physical manifestations of being always-on are not good for long healthy living. I am finding an urge to take things to a higher level that is not within the defensive posture of deescalation/avoidance, etc. This is not good. I should have known that I was experiencing psychological warfare and taken steps to put up protective shields. I get the feeling that our military suffer from this type of warfare and may not recognize it as such and train for it.

I thought I had trained and practiced well as a Marine and Martial Artist. I have not done a complete practice even tho I have trained the mind as well. I have focused on the verbal and physical threat with emphasis on how to avoid and fight vs. deescalate and protect against psychological attacks. How do you train for this aspect?

Training starts with recognition. It continues with gathering knowledge on the method. It results in adjustment of training and practice to achieve a level of protection and actions that would divert and eliminate psychological warfare.

In a nutshell works hurt. Words along with associated principles can influence other people in subtle and unconscious ways. It can be conveyed by the body language the mind perceives; it can be conveyed by the way a person holds their body around you; it can be conveyed by the tone of the voice; the distance they allow or not allow between you; the facial expressions and even in the silence. Silence by the way is not truly silent. If your mind is unconsciously perceiving all the other communications listed with out words it is still effective.

This is how they came to study what they called in WWII as "brain washing." Psychological attacks are a form of brain washing or more apropos manipulation of the unconscious to affect the conscious triggering emotional triggers of brain chemicals that have both adverse and beneficial effects where the intent here is to trigger the adverse side. We fall pray to it simply because we are not aware of these tactics and how they can influence us. Isn't fighting simply communications that effect our monkey brains into the social violence stuff? Injury of pride and ego; loss of face forcing us to act like uncontrolled mentally deficient monkeys.

I am tired. I am now aware. I have to allow time to achieve proficiency in fighting the psychological warfare I have endured for a long time. I know now why things are what they are and how I can change them. If you don't play they will give up trying. If that means leaving the arena, running from a fight, then so be it - run Forrest run! You can not survive by being always on. No warrior can remain up all the time. This is how warriors die. Balance, find balance and allow instincts with awareness to give you the signal to "go into on alert." Shields up Mr. Sulu!

p.s. which would be the greatest damage, physical? Mental?