As I considered the value of giving copies of 21 Games… to soldiers currently at war, I began rereading the Denma Translation of The Art of War by Sun Tzu. Contemplating these ancient yet so currently appropriate concepts of victory in war convinced me that giving copies of 21 Games for The Mind that Won’t Shut the @#&* Up! would indeed be a gift.
More than 2,300 years ago these ideas ascribed to Sun Tsu were formulated by numerous authors to guide the military leaders of China. In the text, these ideas are addressed to “the Sage Commander.” However, this is not a person who actually lived but a state of being that is possible for all of us to achieve. ”If we seek the root of the Sage Commander’s power, we discover that he is simply and genuinely himself, always comfortable with who he is. The more he relaxes, the greater the power associated with him. In some people such openness may arise quite spontaneously. Or they may develop it from a strong discipline, or out of the sharp and sudden experience of seeing through the hold that fear has upon the human mind.”
The intention of 21 Games… is to be the catalyst for this seeing through the hold of fear. These games are fast and easy, short and sweet, effective and memorable means of re-friending yourself. They take a player beyond fear and into relaxation where calm thinking arises, where he is again comfortable with himself and where he becomes a genuine and powerful presence. Knowing that these games work well for me and are working to bring peace and new hope to others, I choose to believe that soldiers at war will find these games to be the gifts I intend.
Please read the next post for how to order a free book for any U.S. soldier in either Afghanistan or Iraq.