A mind-blowing, heart-opening new book from Joel & Michelle Levey
This is a book for awakening the special kind of courage needed in these challenging times to keep our eyes, minds, and hearts open without being overwhelmed or turning away.
Manual for the Awakening Warrior: The Special Forces Secret Mind-Body-Spirit Training Program is a transformative guide that reveals the profound lessons from the once-secret Jedi Warrior program for the U.S. Army Special Forces. Authored by Dr. Joel & Michelle Levey, pioneers in advanced neurofeedback and biofeedback training, collective wisdom, and contemplative science based mind-fitness training, this book offers insights into awakening your potential to thrive amidst life’s changes and challenges. Awakening Warrior draws insight from the historic training of elite forces, presenting wisdom that is readily accessible to all who seek to live and lead with courageous compassion in these times of the Great Unraveling and the Great Turning.
TO ORDER THIS BOOK SEE LINKS AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE
A Manual for the Awakening Warrior
Imagine training twenty-five elite soldiers whose actions could start or stop the next world war. What would you teach them?
The authors once faced this profound question in creating the U.S. Army’s “Jedi Warrior Training Program.” This book details this secret program, described by West Point leaders as “the most exquisite orchestration of human technology we have ever seen.” The immersive, six-month long, full time training encompassed intensive mind-fitness training, the power of mindful presence, including a month-long silent meditation retreat called “The Encampment”, state-of-the-art neurofeedback and cyberphysiology training, energy healing, Aikido, and dramatic mission simulations.
Emerging at the pinnacle of the psychic-ops era of research into extraordinary human abilities, the program was founded on the Army’s inspiring vision of Evolutionary Tactics: A Manual for the First Earth Battalion. George Leonard and Michael Murphy, co-founders of Esalen—epicenter of the human potential movement—called it “the most intensive leadership and human development training program in modern times.”
Designed for elite soldiers, the principles and practices of this advanced training are valuable for everyone who aspires to heighten focus, deploy ethical discernment, and cultivate responsive awareness. Learn how to befriend your inner enemies, avoid self-sabotage and ambush by distractions, and respond skillfully to challenges with deeper courage and compassion. Transform the battlefield of daily life into a zone of peace where wisdom, resilience, and compassion can flourish. Taking these teachings to heart, readers can awaken the inner strengths necessary to navigate these uncertain times with grace, wisdom, and courage.
The Authors:
Joel and Michelle Levey are Nautilus Award winning authors. Their pioneered the integration of contemplative science, deep resilience, optimal performance, and collective wisdom into leading organizations around the globe for five decades. Founders of Wisdom at Work, they have dedicated their lives to personal transformation as a catalyst for profound social change.
They have worked with tens of thousands of leaders in organizations around the globe including: NASA; NOAA; U.S. Surgeon General’s Office; U.S. Army Special Forces; U.S. Navy; Google; British Parliament; National Institutes of Health; National Health Service; Intel; MD Anderson Cancer Center; World Bank; West Point Military Academy; Compassionate Action Network; Compassion Games International; Stanford Research Institute International; Washington Athletic Club; St. Francis Hospice; MIT; Clinton Global Initiative; World Government Summit (Dubai); and the World Business Academy.
The Leveys have served as faculty at University of Minnesota Medical School, the Indian Institute of Management (Ahmedabad), Mahido University (Thailand), and Antioch University, and as core faculty for the International Center for Organization Design (ICOD). They were chairpersons for the Center for Corporate Culture and Organizational Health at the Institute for Health and Productivity Management (IHPM). Honored to participate in the Mindfulness All-Party Parliamentary Group at British Parliament, they served as advisors for the historic Mindful Nation UK report, and presented at the parliamentary hearing on the vital role of mindfulness in the military and emergency blue-light services. Michelle & Joel served as Stewards of Collective Wisdom and Contemplative Science for the First Earth Battalion. They also serve as advisors for Bhutan’s new “City of Mindfulness” Gelephu.
The Leveys have been fortunate to study deeply with many of the most respected researchers of extra-ordinary human potential and contemplative science teachers of our times. The Dalai Lama, an advisor on several of their projects, encouraged the Leveys in their work, saying: “You are presently engaged in work that has great prospects for bringing the inner sciences of transformation to a very wide section of people who may not under ordinary circumstances come into contact with these teachings.”
(Learn more about the Leveys at http://WisdomAtWork.com/MindfulnessPioneers/ )
A Special Kind of Courage
Catch a glimpse of this remarkable story speaking to the special kind of courage needed for keeping our eyes, minds, and hearts open to the intensity, immensity, and complexity of these times without going into overwhelm or mindless absencing. Learn more about this historic program teaching transformational inner skills to Special Forces leaders who could have been in a position to start – or stop – the next world war.
Appreciate the profound power of learning the inner self-awareness and self-mastery skills necessary to be still, non-reactive, and discerning, to prevent moral injury, and live dedicated to benefiting others, while cultivating the outer relational skills necessary to develop strong enduring alliances, teams, and organizations empowered with greater trust, mutual supportiveness, empathy, compassion, collective wisdom, and extra-ordinary performance.
Praise
“If you really want to understand how to bring meditation sciences, the wisdom traditions, and mind fitness technologies to leadership and human performance contexts, this book is for you. The Leveys have fifty-plus years of experience awakening the “special forces” within all of us. Written as a memoir, the story of the Jedi Warrior training is packed with profound insights and practical advice for mastering the great challenges we all face together today.”
~Jutta Tobias Mortlock, co-founder of Centre for Excellence in Mindfulness Research (CEMR), City University of London
“The Trojan Warrior Project described in this superb book changed my life. After hearing about it, I contacted the training cadre and initiated a lifelong path of Aikido-based somatic and mindfulness practices. This training protected me from moral injury in Iraq and Afghanistan and prevented PTSD, while enhancing my performance in high-risk operations. The Department of Defense should immediately institute this cutting-edge curriculum within military training and education programs as well as civilian professional development courses. These transformational enhancements will bolster decision-making, resilience, warrior ethos, and organizational readiness throughout the national defense enterprise.”
-Fred Krawchuk, US Army Special Forces Colonel (Ret.), Deputy Director for Operations at Southeastern European Task Force, Africa
Over many decades, I have benefitted from the practices and teachings Joel and Michelle offer here. But I was mesmerized by the page-turner narrative of this “Mission Impossible,” how they brought these practices to the Special Forces, A story of dedication, discipline, experimentation, bravery, and love–told in such detail that I went on this journey with them. This is crucial training for us, now that we too are engaged in a battle for the human spirit and the Spirit of Life.
–Margaret Wheatley, teacher and author of many books, from Leadership and the New Science (1992) to Restoring Sanity: Practice to Awaken Generosity, Creativity, and Kindness (2024).
“Manual for the Awakening Warrior by Michelle and Joel Levey is one of those rare books that offers down to earth pragmatic skills for living a fulfilled life as well as the depth of wisdom that is necessary for a genuine transformation of self, institutions, and may I say, nations. I unequivocally recommend this book for anyone who wishes to walk the warrior’s path of skillful action, grounded compassion, and pragmatic wisdom.”
~Richard Strozzi-Heckler, author of Embodying the Mystery, The Art of Somatic Coaching, and In Search of the Warrior Spirit
“At last, after forty years, the Jedi Warrior program story is widely shared. This captivating story combines ancient wisdom with modern neuroscience to inspire leadership and pubic service. Needed now more than ever, its wisdom will ignite your warrior spirit, cultivate resilience, and awaken your potential to serve the greater good.”
~ Susan Bauer-Wu, PhD. RN, Author, A Future we can Love; and Leaves Falling Gently, Former President, Mind & Life Institute
“As a veteran Special Forces officer, I know that the most dangerous adversary is not the one with the biggest gun, but the one who cannot be shaken—who fights with intelligence, restraint, and unbreakable will. Manual for the Awakening Warrior offers a blueprint to cultivate warriors who are not only tactically superior but mentally and ethically invincible. Having known Dr Joel and Michelle Levey for over two decades, I was certain that any program spearheaded by them would be world-class. The Jedi Warrior program described in the book (surpasses that and) sets a new gold standard for warrior training—one that forges not just fighters, but enlightened leaders in all disciplines capable of navigating both the battlefield and the complexities of life with wisdom, resilience, and unshakable integrity.”
~ Major Deependra Sengar, Sena Medal,veteran Indian Special Forces officer (Ret.), whose life inspired the popular web TV series Jeet Ki Zid
“Awakening Warrior tells an amazing and timely true story as we are being challenged to reorient ourselves to a radically changing social/ecological situation. This richly elaborated evolutionary tale by two pioneers in the field offers a thrilling glimpse of whole-being education and the dimensions of future human becoming practice now. Awakening warriors, protectors of life, the ‘Earth Battalion,’ take note.”
~ Kolin Lymworth, founder of Banyen Books, Vancouver, Canada
Awakening Warrior is a battle-tested blueprint for mastering mind, body, and spirit in an increasingly chaotic world. As a combat commander and West Point graduate, I know that true leadership demands decisiveness, wisdom, and resilience—qualities the Leveys distill from elite training into practical tools for modern warriors. A must-read for leaders, service members, first responders, and anyone committed to transformative change. This is more than a book—it’s a field manual for those ready to meet this profound moment with clarity, courage, and compassion.”
~ Colonel Deb Lewis, (USA, Ret.), first class of West Point women graduates 1980, Harvard MBA, Founder – Mentally Tough Women
“An enlightening read! Not only is Manual for the Awakening Warrior a great read, but it provides tools needed now to develop the kind of courage that responds to the world’s challenges with care and wisdom. Part memoir, part revelatory history, and part how-to manual for living authentically and courageously in challenging times, Joel and Michelle Levey have written a book the world needs now to meet global disarray with enlightened courage.”
~Willa Blythe Baker, PhD, author of The Wakeful Body
“Across all human cultures, the warrior traditions historically offered structured teachings and mind-body skills to prepare individuals to engage in heroic action on behalf of others—so that warriors could access awareness, self-regulation, and ethical action, regardless of the situation. Joel and Michelle have been pioneers in bringing these essential teachings into mainstream institutional settings. This book recounts their journey in developing and sharing the Jedi Warrior program with U.S. Special Forces, in the process inspiring many other programs to bring about individual and organizational transformation.”
– Elizabeth A. Stanley, Ph.D., creator of Mindfulness-based Mind Fitness Training (MMFT) and award-winning author of Widen the Window: Training Your Brain and Body to Thrive During Stress and Recover from Trauma
“From a first responder’s perspective, this book exemplifies the importance of confidence, candor, commitment, and courage during emergencies, when the mind, body, and spirit must thrive to survive.”
~ Captain (Ret.) Kirk McKinzie, fire and rescue professional
“Manual for the Awakening Warrior provides a compelling guide for all who are seeking to live wisely, meaningfully, resiliently, and courageously in these profound times.”
~ Adam Engle, J.D.; M.B.A. Co-founder and Chair/CEO emeritus Mind and Life Institute
“I found this book extraordinary for its behind-the-scenes view of a historic and astonishingly radical training program. Both the leaders and the participants faced unique challenges—I was moved by their courage, compassion, and vulnerabilities and thrilled by their victories. Visionary and unprecedented, the experiment continues to serve as a vivid illustration of how the cultivation of self-mastery can be brought into every corner of our society. It sparked the warrior spirit within myself, aligning me with my own courage, kindfulness, and empowered presence. And it made me hopeful that this groundbreaking program emphasizing the integration of mind, body, heart, and spirit may become a model for paradigmatic change in systems and institutions worldwide.
~ Karin de Weille, Writer, literary coach, and performing artist
“The many aspects of service represented here offer wisdom for everyone: clinicians, past present and future military personnel, activists, first responders, caregivers, anyone wanting to expand their own way of walking in service to our ailing world. Perhaps most importantly, this story illumines the wealth of inner strength we can access by allowing ourselves to awaken the courage to face vulnerability as a path to opening to the mysteries and tools of transformation for ourselves, our communities, and our planet.”
~Rev. Susan Shannon, M.Div, BCC, former Death Row Buddhist Chaplain, founder, Buddhist Prison Ministry
”This exquisitely written manual eloquently shows that inner peace can be cultivated in any community. The Awakening Warrior shows a path for transformation, introducing ancient contemplative skills that have been honed for thousands of years to manage and heal from traumatic experiences.”
~ Ralph Steele, Founder of Veterans Meditation Retreat Project
“Joel and Michelle Levey have spent decades illuminating the path of conscious leadership, and Manual for the Awakening Warrioris a culmination of their extraordinary work. By blending ancient wisdom with modern science, they offer a powerful framework for navigating life’s challenges with strength, mindfulness, and an unwavering commitment to compassion.”
~ Jon Ramer, CoFounder, Compassion Games International
“There is a force seemingly within us, that transcends the limitations of perception and instills an ability to apply power in creation through the destruction of the known. In Awakening Warrior, Joel and Michele track the journey to the spirit that accesses that force and applies it in the creation of a beautiful world.”
~ Sensei Richard Moon, 6th degree Black Belt, founder and head instructor of Aikido of Marin, cofounder and senior instructor at City Aikido of San Francisco
“Joel and Michelle Levey’s observation that it takes ‘a special kind of courage’ to keep our hearts and minds open in our rapidly changing and increasingly complex world’ is especially poignant as we in education face the complexities of preparing our youth to meet the future.”
~ Rex W. Bates, Director International Advancement, Annie Wright Schools
“I had the incredible opportunity to read this book at a time in my life when I deeply needed warrior courage tools at its best. As soon as I opened this book I could not put it down. The incredible alive spirit and whole heart journey that Michelle and Joel went on is an unforgettable ride of making the impossible possible. Being a reader is like being on the journey right there next to Joel and Michelle and learning to become an awakened warrior too. The world needs these enlightened skills and wisdom of this true story of how bringing diverse worlds to meet in the middle together, can make a more peaceful world. This book deserves eyes and hearts and minds to read from all corners of the Earth. My hope for humanity has been found right here in this book. I am soul grateful you have found it too!
~ Sommer Joy Ramer, Co-Founder of Compassion Games International & Creator of Garden Of Joy
“Manual for the Awakening Warrior is truly a gem. It is to be read and referred to multiple times as the reader continues to be profoundly transformed to become a better, more compassionate, and more positively effective member of the human community. These skills are not only paramount for survival in crisis and war but are also essential elements of daily creativity and wise living in all respects.”
~ Gilah Yelin Hirsch, Professor of Art Emerita, California State University Dominguez Hills, artist, filmmaker, writer
“The Leveys have been so inspirational in the field of mindfulness teaching over so many decades.”
~ Chris Ruane, Former MP, British Parliament, Founder of All Parliamentary Roundtable on Mindfulness and its Mindful Nation UK Report
“Joel and Michelle Levey have been leaders in the global mindfulness movement since its inception. Their Jedi Warrior project was a breakthrough in our field, proving, under the most difficult circumstances, that the power of inner attention training produces practical, extraordinary results in real time.”
~ Christopher Thorsen, pioneer in Aikido for corporate leaders
Joel & Michelle Levey have a remarkable ability to bring forth warmth and accessibility to complicated and cosmic topics. This book is no exception. This riveting story carries profound wisdom on every page. Reader be warned: the pages herein stand to open the mind, awaken the heart, and change the very way you think about training of any kind.
~ Suiko McCall, founder of the Art Monastery
“Joel and Michelle Levey have skillfully woven together contemporary insights into the value and need for mind-fitness and meditation practices with a large number of evocative suggestions for practice. Joel and Michelle clearly have a great deal of experience teaching a wide range of different settings and this is reflected in the precision and vividness of their instructions. There is strength in the simplicity of their explanation of the value of these practices and their clear instructions for how to practice.”
~ Jon Kabat-Zinn
“Joel and Michelle bring tremendous and rare wisdom and experience to the work of developing more mindful and wisdom-informed workplaces. I recommend their trainings whole-heartedly.”
~ Chris Cullen, Oxford Mindfulness Center (UK)
“The work of Joel and Michelle Levey has long been a luminous thread in the fabric of the Great Turning. They embody in many ways this epochal transition to a life-sustaining society.”
~ Joanna Macy, deep ecologist, activist, and scholar
Pre-Order Your Copy Now!
Please support us and inspire yourself by pre-ordering your copy of A Manual for the Awakening Warrior from:
Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster UK
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Inner Traditions
BAM! Books-A-Million
Bookshop.org